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My guess is this: While $770 Billion sounds like a great deal of money to us consumers, it will take three or four times that amount to recapitalize the financial industry. They are that badly over-leveraged.
No doubt many people are taking money out of their pockets when they sell their homes. No doubt the situation is worst in states like California, Florida, and Michigan. But Zillow's statistics are virtually worthless due to the way they are derived. This article is just another example of Inman's ongoing campaign to boost Zillow.
Local/regional Associations and their affiliated MLS organizations have become too full of themselves. It should not be the role of the MLS organization to set up public-facing IDX sites. I resent it very much when they use my dues money to do so. Leave the home selling up to me and my broker please. If my MLS organization really wants to help me, they should negotiate for discounted rates from top-notch IDX providers, so I can have a really first-rate IDX search on my own website without having to pay such high fees to the providers.