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How does an economist become an expert???

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Kate Writes Right

I just have a few minutes before I leave for an appointment, but I was reading a backlog of email when I came across this post in the Houston Business Journal: Economist: ‘Free-fall is over'  Since I always love good news and share it with my client base, I hopped over to the website to see what the article used to support the claim of economic recovery.  Both real estate buyers and sellers around The Woodlands love to hear some good news.

When I got to the last paragraph of the article where it predicted the price of oil (an important factor in Houston economics)...this is what it said: "Like the rest of the economy's prospects when the slow recovery begins in 2010, Gault doesn not expect energy prices to spike quickly as some recent reports have suggested. Oil prices will average $46 a barrel this year, he suggests, rising only to an average of $54 in 2010 and would not move past $75 until 2012."

Recalling a news report on NPR, I googled today's price of oil only to find that the price of oil climbed TODAY to $58 per barrel.  With this level of accuracy, can I apply for the job of "noted economist"???

Carol Smith
Casmi Photography - Mebane, NC

Kathy - I'm a firm believer that most 'expert economists' are not much more than 'expert guesstimators'.  Perhaps this man should have learned to use Google.  :)

May 08, 2009 07:23 AM
Kathi Frank
Kate Writes Right - Houston Heights, TX
The Woodlands TX

Hi Carol, What I don't understand is how these "economists" earn a living!  As a real estate agent, we don't get paid when we are wrong.

May 08, 2009 08:19 AM