David Lereah Out as NAR Chief Economist

The reign of David Lereah as chief economist of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is finally coming to an end. I'm not going to lie, I am going to miss being able to make fun of David month after month as his overly sunny analysis of the real estate market proves false again and again. Lereah has been an utter embarrassment to REALTORs for years and I imagine few are mourning his decision to leave.

Lereah is supposedly leaving NAR to begin working with MOVE Inc. a company that provides neighborhood and community information to new and prospective homeowners. Why Move Inc wants to subject themselves to criticism for hiring Lereah is unknown. The equity markets did not reward MOVE for the hire. Move Inc.'s stock was off 2.5% today perhaps as investors begin to calculate just how much damage Lereah can do before they realize their mistake (okay, okay that's probably not why the stock is off).

The real question for me is what will become of the blog that quickly became my favorite housing bubble blog: David Lereah Watch. My sources tell me that the site will probably be renamed and follow the next qualified economist who can stomach cheerleading for the NAR during a market downturn. That's not an easy job. Just imagine trying to pitch technology stocks to investors in 2002 . In the event that no one signs up NAR will probably contact someone over at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the favorite PR spin artist of ExxonMobil and Big Tobacco. I'm sure they'll come up with something.