Consult a Realtor BY NOW

Too bad I didn't have my camera with me when I was stuck at a light behind this Las Vegas Vanity plate. Yep, the frame really did say "Consult a Realtor" and the license plate really did read "BY NOW".

Of course in Las Vegas, every day the sun is shining is a good day to buy real estate. And yes, that is every day. To prove it, you can pick up the Las Vegas Review Journal and read yet another article by Hubble Smith proclaiming the market has hit bottom, and yes indeed, it is the time to buy. Here is today's propoganda by Hubble entitled "REAL ESTATE: Analysts see prices at bottom Las Vegas home sales surpass pace of foreclosures."

http://www.lvrj.com/business/51386212.html?numComments=44

Hubble has been writing this same article damn near every day of his whole career. Sure he throws in ominous statistics from time to time, but his overall message is the same as the license plate - by now.

What has changed is that everyone sees through his pep talk, to his underlying stupidity. The comments on the RJ website are numerous and scathing. Here are a few of my favorites.

"my, my" writes - "Idiots! Unemployment rate is past 12% and still climbing, and these so called analysts and uneducated and uninformed realtors are blowing their horns again. Folks, brace yourselves, things are gonna get a whole lot worse."

"jcm" writes - "are these the same analysts that totally MISSED the real estate crash ?why should anyone pay attention to these "experts". give me one who called the crash and i may listen to him. otherwise it is a bunch of hogwash to try and get the gullible public to start buying again."

"grumpy" writes - "Home prices in Las Vegas will fall at least another 50%. This third world balkanized mexican colony offers no quality of life worth paying top dollar for the popsicle stick construction of these little mud huts that sit on 1/9 of an acre."

"Eddie Gin" writes - "Anybody want to buy some Ocean-front property in ARIZONA, I have some real good buys. Unemployment is going to go to 20% in NEVADA. HELLO. OH, I forgot Clark COUNTY voted for chairman Barack O'Promises.“The two most common elements in the world are hydrogen and stupidity.”

"BS" writes - "Quit running these BS stories. NOBODY believes them - not even the idiots."

"Obama Teleprompter" writes - "Just some of the words of wisdom from our Realtors and the LVRJ:" National Association of Realtors report shows market rebounding" Jan. 06, 2008"This is a great time to buy real estate, Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors inducted Sue Naumann" November, 29, 2008"This shows that buyers are realizing that this is a great time to buy a home," Naumann said.January 09, 2009"Real estate is now a good buy in Las Vegas," Dec. 09, 2008"Las Vegas may be among the first markets to emerge from the housing slump clutching the nation as monthly sales have picked up and prices appear to be reaching the bottom, a local housing analyst said." Nov. 19, 2008"Timing is everything, and this is a great time to buy because the value and choices available right now are amazing. Oct 11,2008 Ernest Belair, president of the Las Vegas Division.January 27 2005:Marta Borsanyi, founder and principal of The Concord Group, Newport Beach, Calif., said “location, location, location” has become “timing, timing, timing” in condominium conversions. “There is never negative growth in housing," she said. "Housing is really a utility. We all need a roof over our head.”"Now really is a great time to buy a new home, and we strongly encourage customers to take advantage of our offerings this weekend," said Jeff Galindo, vice president of sales for Lennar Las Vegas 09/20/2008AND FINALLY A WORD FROM GEOFF SCHUMACHER OF THE OF LVRJ:"And so it's a great time to buy, not only because the houses are affordable but because they're certain to rise in value eventually." Jun 29, 2008"

"Downturn" writes - "Stay tuned next month for a "New" bottom!", and finally my favorite comments name:

"bodyunderthehouse" writes - "With a little help from the media; banks are doing a pretty decent job of manipulating the market here. They have the money to sit on homes now, b.c. of bailouts. Homes here seem to sit nicely with minimal vadalism, unlike Phoenix or Detriot where vacant units get destroyed. Infact the more homes they appear to be stuck with the worse they look and the more bailouts they will get. A bulk of the houses they are releasing are the crappy ones. The better units are just sitting, some of them for over a year now! They have soo many homes and the number continues to grow. With 1 in 13 homes in the valley in some state of foreclosure, 75% of LV mortgages underwater and 12.3+% and rising unemployment, now is the time to buy! At this point Im not so sure we will see the $15-$20k a month depriciation we saw a while back, but there are areas that are still losing value despite the hype. Its obvious that the foreclosures will outlast the stickershock. Just as its obvious that the "experts" calling bottom have a vested interest in Realestate."

Yep, we ain't as stupid as we look, and I reckon ole Hubble and his cronies think we haven't seen through their song and dance BY NOW.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time . . .

So anyways, I gotta go. By now!