Guidant Financial Group Blog

There was an in-depth conversation going on in the Guidant break room yesterday about whether or not employees wanted to know the date of their death. The general consensus -- aside from the fact that we should have more clients on television to distract us from our dark thoughts -- was a resounding “no.”

Although knowing that something terrible is about to happen can feel almost as bad as the terrible thing itself, sometimes knowing what “bad” thing is on the horizon can actually be a “good” thing. This can definitely be said of the forecasted housing prices posted by CNNMoney (see Where Home Prices are Headed Next).

Up until we saw this article, many of us were under the impression that the Seattle housing market was nearly immune to the housing crisis. But even though it’s hard for us to face the disappointing realization that the Seattle market is predicted to decline a full 9% in the next year, these predicted changes may be a useful cheat sheet for some investors, even some of us right here at Guidant.

Self-directed IRA holders interested in investing in real estate may be able to take advantage of current low housing costs and predicted declines in some areas (like Guidant’s own hometown!). Additionally, for those who are waiting to build their IRA through smaller investments and then move toward real property, the regions with the biggest decreases in home prices may boast the best investment deals in the next couple of years. In order to be ready when your IRA is, it’s never too early to start looking.

All this being said, one thing the CNNMoney article doesn’t do is tell readers how the data was compiled or the exact changes calculated. It should go without saying that before any investor moves forward with an investment, he or she should consult a qualified advisor (not a crystal ball) and do plenty of due diligence.

The same would be said for any mumbo-jumbo that predicts the number of mates you’ll have, the names of future children, or, yes, even the date of your death: don’t believe it until you know how that consensus was reached ... unless the vehicle of the latter prediction was a 300-lb. ex-linebacker named Guido – then we suggest you take it very, very seriously.