But it's his track record more than his resume that has won him serious credibility with his peers. In 1989 he earned the nickname "Scary Gary" by correctly predicting that the housing market in Southern California was headed for a tumble. Then, in 1996, he was one of the first to call the area's rebound. Since 1997, Orange County home prices have seen a 195 percent rise. Will the good times last another year? Gary doesn't hesitate. "Fifteen percent is pretty much in the bag for Orange County in 2006," he says. "It's impossible for prices to go down this year."
Head 3,000 miles east and talk to almost any broker in Boston, by contrast, and he'll tell you that business has slowed in the past several months. Consider John Ford. Just two years ago, five properties was the most he needed to show a prospective buyer before eliciting an offer. "And then it would be a bidding war," says Ford, who employs 30 agents in three Boston area offices. Today he's averaging 14 property tours before a skittish client is ready to buy.