There was a stretch a few years ago when I stopped checking my retirement accounts. Not for strategic reasons, mind you—I just couldn’t stomach watching red numbers bleed across the screen. The market was throwing a tantrum, and my carefully balanced mix of stocks and funds was looking less like a financial plan and more like a slow-motion car crash.
But here’s the thing: while the Wall Street roller coaster had me gripping the safety bar, my real estate investments were quietly doing their job—appreciating in value, kicking off steady income, and not so much as flinching.
It was one of those rare moments where the textbook definition of “diversification” suddenly became very real, not just in theory but in my gut. The numbers in my brokerage account said “panic,” but the stable performance of my properties said, “We’ve got you.”
Technically, yes, real estate was balancing my portfolio. But more importantly, it was keeping me sane.
I didn’t need a spreadsheet to tell me what I already felt: owning tangible, income-producing assets gave me a sense of control and stability that no ETF ever has. I could drive by a property and say, “That’s working for me.” Try doing that with your index fund.
This isn’t financial advice. This is just one guy’s way of saying: when the stock market made me sweat, real estate helped me sleep.
Doug Kline, PhD, has held income properties in North Carolina for more than 20 years. He holds a North Carolina broker’s license, and is a member of the National Association of Realtors and the Triangle Real Estate Investors Association. He holds an MBA and a PhD in business. In addition to his real estate activities, Doug enjoyed a successful career in academia, achieving the rank of Full Professor in the Cameron School of Business at UNC Wilmington. He was honored with research and teaching awards, served as Director of the MS Computer Science and Information Systems program, and was awarded the endowed position Distinguished Professor of Information Systems.