Newly Discovered: the Avocado-Dream Home Connection
I think you’ll agree that the relationship between avocados and dream homes has been elusive for a long time. In fact, any connection between the delicious green fruit (it’s not a veggie) and the Oklahoma City home of our dreams has been more than elusive. Until last week, it’s fair to say it was completely undiscovered.
Last Tuesday, thanks to ace reporting by CNBC’s David Reid, the connection was finally unearthed. The breakthrough came with his published report, headlined
“MILLIONAIRE SAYS MILLENNIALS SHOULD STOP BUYING AVOCADO IN ORDER TO BUY DREAM HOME.”
Reid’s discovery brought to light the negative impact the fruit is currently wreaking on young people. Although the report originated in Australia, Oklahoma millennials might want to pay heed to the warning, as well. If they are like the millennials I know, they probably haven’t previously made the connection.
The headline derives from the wisdom of the young Aussie real estate tycoon Tim Gurner. He’s only 35, yet has already stashed away more than half a billion dollars. Even though last week’s Australian dollar was only worth 75 cents, that’s still an impressive accomplishment.
Let’s face it: here or Down Under, that’s a lot of avocados!
Australia’s version of 60 Minutes provided the link between buying a dream home and what New Orleanians call “alligator pears.” It came in the course of a televised interview during which the youthful mogul related his dismay at young people’s spendthrift restaurant choices. Gurner described scrimping and saving for his first real estate purchase—activity which definitely didn’t include ordering gourmet sandwiches at trendy cafes. “When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop,” he recalled. “How can young people afford to eat like this?”
Although his premise is certainly unarguable—Oklahoma City young people would do well to watch their lunch-hour budgets as they save for their first home purchase—it might be unfair to place the blame directly on avocados. Careful Oklahoma City shoppers can usually find an ORGANIC one at the market for at most $1.99 (or less if they are patient enough to wait for the little rock-hard ones to ripen).
The timing by CNBC is also subject to criticism. The avocado-dream home connection may have come too late, since it appeared a full two weeks after Cinco de Mayo, the traditional apex of local Oklahoma City guacamole consumption. Chips and dips will be omnipresent for this weekend’s Memorial Day get-togethers, but the green stuff will have to
