Lessons from The Gas Station Guru

Today a gas station attendant noticed I was in real estate from the signs on my car. He asked how the market was. To which I replied,

"Horrible because I just started out this last year, but it's also an excellent time to buy. It's a buyer's market and I'm not just saying that cause I'm trying to sell you something."

He then proceeded to argue with me about how he felt it wasn't the time to buy. I left feeling frustrated that I, the real estate professional, couldn't convince this gas station attendant, the non-real estate professional that I was right. It then hit me...when I was a stock broker during the height of the Dot-com Boom I remember gas station attendants, barbers and taxi drivers not asking me anymore for stock tips, but giving out the stock tips. It was at this moment that I realized the market was over-bought. I cashed out and bought real estate before the market crashed. Today in real estate, the opposite is true. The gas station attendant is telling me it's not time to buy. So, what I'm hearing is, the market is over-sold and it's time to buy! Houses might be an emotional commodity but none-the-less they are a commodity just like stocks.