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Can you imagine what the Mona Lisa would look like if Leonardo da Vinci worked quickly with a 4 inch brush?  He probably would not have caught the details necessary to communicate his intent and we likely would never have even heard of this masterpiece.  If the details get lost in translation, much of the artist’s intent will be lost.   Similarly, it’s difficult to communicate complex ideas with just a few words.  A couple months back Jim Cramer of “Mad Money” made a few broad statements about the housing market.  Anyone that watches his show “Mad Money” knows that he claims that there is a bull market in every market (stock market) and he’s going to help you find it.   I find that interesting  coming from a man that said on the Today show that ‘anyone that bought a house now would be making a big mistake’.  Where’s the positivity for the housing market?  In fact, he even said that anyone that bought a house then would lose money.  That’s a pretty broad statement and of course, Realtors and sellers everywhere got all worked up about it. 

The media loves to overstate fact in order to generate some fear.  They love to stumble across the financial equivalent of the ’if it bleeds it leads’ statement targeted to get the public to stop and stare.  Scared out of their wallets, afraid to make a move.   Combined with their love to oversimplify, they start getting dangerous.  They love to pretend their audience isn’t intelligent enough to make their own decisions.  Instead, they make the decisions for you.  That’s not conducive to good investing in housing or otherwise.   Most investors know they can’t just buy the stocks that get hyped each day on CNBC.  They know they need to dig a little deeper.  Sometimes when most people are saying sell, that’s when you need to be buying.

Real estate can be just as complicated as the stock market but thankfully, real estate moves a little slower.  There’s a lot more real estate markets and homes out there than all the stocks that Mr. Cramer claims to have in his head. (I think he’s claiming 2000…)  Certainly, the opportunities in housing have to exist.  I know what and where they are in my area and I’m sure if you work hard enough, you’ll find them in your area too.  

Anyway,  Cramer was on his show yesterday and mentioned that with the rate cuts, he thinks it could be a good time to buy a house again.   Funny part is that, during the time between his first public denunciation of real estate and his recent reprieve, not much has changed in Denver or anywhere else.  Just the Fed’s interest rates.  Mortgage rates will eventually follow but truth is they weren’t bad three months ago.  Some of the outlying areas of Denver will have some issues with the foreclosures, that hasn’t changed.  Maybe the only thing that changed is the fact that media feels it needs to put a new twist on the news.  

 For the most part, the new urbanism movement in Northwest and Southeast Denver has helped those areas of the city through most of the slump.  In fact, I pity the people that passed on the home they wanted in these areas based on news that they should be waiting for a better deal.   Most buyers are looking for the 20% price reduction that will never come.   It’s their loss.  I’ve said it before.  The rest of the country’s problem isn’t necessarily Denver’s problem.   We are not immune from the problems but all the factors that contribute to a strong local economy are still in place.   So don’t get worked up when you hear incredibly outlandish statements saying to ‘do this’ or ’don’t do that’.   There are always opportunities if you know where to look.  I’m sure a sane Jim Cramer would admit to that.

 …have you ever noticed Mona Lisa’s wandering eye?  Maybe she spotted a deal over the artist’s shoulder.