Muted Market

“Man, the Stock Market has been going up and down like a yo-yo,” said my friend JP. “Now it’s down and just hanging there, like a yo-yo unwound. And when it’s down, my blood pressure is up.”

JP poured his fourth cup of coffee. His hand shook as he pointed at me and said, “We’ll see the Real Estate market go down, too. My blood pressure is going up as we speak.” He lifted his coffee cup and gulped.

“You think it might be because of all that coffee?” I asked.

“No. Coffee futures are pretty stable. It’s the big corporate stocks taking down the market.”

I called the Finance Guy and put the phone on “speakerphone”.

“Will the Real Estate market be affected by the Stock Market?” I asked.

“Traditionally, the fibrillation frequencies in housing do not synchronize with the radical fluctuations seen in commodities,” said the Finance Guy. “The obligation elements inherent in the purchase and maintenance of real property discourage extreme speculative behavior such as one might witness inside the hallowed confines of the Stock Exchange.”

“Huh?” said JP. I pushed the “mute” button to screen out JP’s comments.

“However,” continued the Finance Guy, “at times, Real Estate markets do go through periods of irrational exuberance, wherein price points may indeed display such aforementioned fluctuations.”

JP rolled his eyes. “Irrational exuberance?” he whispered.

I said to JP, “The phone is on ‘mute’ so you can talk.”

“Good,” said JP. “This guy’s a real egg-head.”

“I heard that,” said the Finance Guy.

“Oops.” I pushed the ‘mute’ button again.

The Finance Guy went on. “Considering the binary nature of investments with Real Estate and stocks we find a certain commonality in cause and effect.”

JP leaned back, closed his eyes, and patted his mouth with the palm of his hand, as if stifling a yawn.

On went the Finance Guy. “Your question, I assume, is promulgated by the current Stock Market downturn. One cause is the recent pattern of storms, snow, and ice that have stalled economic activity, affecting the Stock Market, and in turn Real Estate, but I assure you, for the very short term.”

“What did he say?” said JP.

“I think he said the Real Estate market and Stock Market are affected by the weather,” I said.

“The egg-head is also a weatherman?” queried JP.

“I heard that.”

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Got a question or comment? I’d like to hear from you. Email escrowgo@aol.com or call 530-680-0817. Doug Love is Sales Manager at Century 21 Jeffries Lydon.