Our local 10 O'Clock news advertised today for a special segment this evening on local real estate. As a local Realtor, I tuned in to hear what they had to say. Not only was it a useless report, it ticked me off!

After watching their usual disgusting dribble and nonsense (violence, murder, rape, robbery), they finally got around to their "special segment" on real estate. This segment focused on foreclosures.

First, they provided no useful information at all. They showed a man who was buying a foreclosed home and then proceeded to show how risky it was due to all of the things that needed replacement or repair in the home. "Do you due diligence before you buy!" OK....really? Gee, thanks!

Then, they had to follow their formula of "negativity sells" and they posted statistics on the screen that showed an "increase in foreclosures in 2007 versus 1996". Hello? 1996? Do you think that since 1996 we may have experienced a broad range of local socioeconomic factors that had an impact on many things, including foreclosures? Perhaps an increase in the number of residences due to migration and subsequently an increase in homebuilding? They failed to point out the statistic "as a percentage of the total residences in the county...at the time". This would have been more accurate, intelligent and fair!

They also failed to point out that Greenville has the lowest rate of foreclosures out of the top 100 major metro areas in the nation! They also failed to report that Greenville enjoyed the greatest recovery rate of foreclosures of any major metro area in the nation, 2007 versus 2006!

I realize the local news is in business to perpetuate negativity and make you believe that there are murderers, rapists and robbers lurking around outside your window right now. However, this real estate report just ticked me off as it hit too close to home as a Realtor in the area. I know better! It was uninformative and completely misleading!

As Realtors, it is our job to educate our clients and overcome such misinformation and negativity perpetuated by the mass media!