Know It All

by Doug Love

I called my friend, The Finance Guy.

“Hey, did you hear The California Association of Realtors published their 2014 California Housing Market Forecast?” I asked.

“But of course,” he said. “I’m fully aware of their so-called forecast. I was given access to the report prior to its publication, and I was consulted as to the level of its accuracy and the caliber of the information therein.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. The Finance Guy knows a lot. My friend J.P. says The Finance Guy possesses so much knowledge he’s full of it. And several of my friends are so impressed they refer to him as Mr. Know-It-All.

I told The Finance Guy the 2014 Housing Market Forecast indicates we will continue to see improvements through 2014. The C.A.R. President said, “As the economy enters the fourth year of a modest recovery, we expect to see a strong demand for homeownership as buyers who may have been competing with investors and facing an extreme shortage of available housing, return from the sidelines.”

“Rose-colored glasses, my boy,” said The Finance Guy. “Your trade organization, this C.A.R., is foisting a distorted view upon you and your kind, as they whistle through the proverbial graveyard.”

“Foisting?” I said.

“Where was your precious C.A.R. when the housing bubble burst in 2006?” he said

“Actually,” I said, “C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young warned us in 2004 and 2005 we were headed for a serious downturn. And weren’t you still bullish on the market in —“

“Let’s focus on the here and now, shall we? Have you seen the stock market trends lately? Have you heard of the Government Shutdown?” He delivered an impressive monologue about the government’s questionable fiscal, monetary, and housing policies.

“And actions of the Federal Reserve,” he said, “will ensure a higher interest rate environment, which will have a negative impact in the housing sector.”

I called my friend J.P. “Hey, did you hear The California Association of Realtors published their 2014 California Housing Market Forecast?” I asked.

“Yeah,” said J.P., “Leslie Appleton Young said the market continues to improve, and we’ll see moderate price increases in 2014.”

I asked him about the effect of the Government Shutdown, questionable governmental fiscal policies, and a higher interest rate environment.

“Hmm,” said J.P. “Have you been talking to Mr. Know-it-All again?”