A Wall Street Journal article catches up with David A. Lereah, the former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors who was known for talking up the housing market well into the downturn.
Lereah left the association to participate in a secretive project at Realtor.com-operator Move Inc. in mid-2007, and that project was canceled last year (see Inman Blog).
The Wall Street Journal reports that Lereah, 55, "says he was pressured by executives to issue optimistic forecasts -- then was left to shoulder the blame when things went sour. 'I was there for seven years doing everything they wanted me to.' "
A NAR spokesman, meanwhile, said in the article that Lereah used similar forecasts in his book, which was not published by the trade group.
The article includes a link to a sidebar article with statements Lereah made about the market from January 2006 through January 2007, as well as a link to a real estate newsletter that he now produces, titled the Reecon Advisory Report.
At Inman News' inaugural Digital Video Summit last week in New York, we were honored to have Channing Dawson, the Emmy award winning adviser from Scripps Networks Interactive, deliver a keynote address that gave us a peek at some next generation interactive video strategies and their application to real estate.
Many attendees requested links to the videos contained within Channing's presentation, which we've posted below, as well as how it related to his talk, which will we have available shortly on Inman.com.
In the meantime, enjoy these fantastic videos and let us know if you'd like us to host another Video Summit this summer in San Francisco.
Marshall McLuhan (predicting the rise of social media online):
Google Chat (video collaboration):
Neil's Home Cinema (user-generated media):
Bruce Lee Ping Pong Nunchunk (viral video for marketing):
Obama (one-to-many communication via video):
Facepaint by James Kuhn (new forms of art):
YouTube Symphony (collaborative music):
Redfin (video marketing as education):
PlayStation 3 Home Edition (video embedded in virtual worlds):
Wii Bowling (video marketing as entertainment):
CNN Hologram (new video technologies):
Blendtec (video brand building):
Loreal Not for Women (user-generated advertising):
Perceptive Pixel Wall (new ways to interact with video):
Children at SmartBoard, Edusim (immersive education):
Mankind is No Island (short-form cellphone video):
