Tom Kelly The Real Estate Adviser

November 13, 2008

The Real Estate Adviser: Realtors offer plan to rev up housing

ORLANDO, Fla. — The motivational speakers included legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong. Two-time Olympic volleyball champs Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor were on hand to autograph pictures. The feel-good giveaways were cuddly toy horses, monkeys and bears. You could even get a cashmere scarf for $10.

Despite the attempts to energize and comfort attendees at the National Association of Realtors annual convention (the theme was “Destination: Success — Full Speed Ahead”), the lousy economy and national housing numbers brought a sobering reality. New and existing home sales have combined to drop more than one million units a year since their peak in 2005, with prices slumping more than 20 percent during that time.

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Previous columns:

• Tom Kelly: Creative thinking would help fix mortgage mess, 11-06-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Should you lock loans in this crazy market?, 10-30-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: When in doubt, remodel home to meet your needs, 10-23-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Home improvements just for your family, 10-16-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Option ARM: the loan that took down WaMu, 10-09-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: WaMu's mortgage troubles started in '96, 10-02-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Foreclosure scams are on the increase, 09-25-2008
• The Real Estate Adviser: Niche lenders target U.S. buyers in Mexico, 09-18-2008