Episode 107 of Selling More Homes: The Monday Morning Meeting on Sales & Digital Marketing for Builders. This Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast features an informative discussion between Jerry, Scott, and guest Bonnie Alfred around the topic, “Mastering the Present, Building for the Future.”
But before that, Jerry and Scott talked about a recent trip Jerry took to New Orleans to talk about Constructing New Homes in Disadvantaged Sections of the City. They discuss the new focus on energy efficiency for heating and cooling, along with the stimulus & expanded plan to home buyers and builders.
Sit back and enjoy the lively discussion on how we think about setting down solid roots for a stable future for the housing industry.
Click here to listen to Episode 107 of Selling More Homes: The Monday Morning Meeting on Sales & Digital Marketing for Builders.
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FULL TRANSCRIPT (with timecode)
00:00:00:21 – 00:00:16:09
This is the Selling More Homes podcast program number 107 this week, we speak with Bonnie Friend on the topic, mastering the present building for the future. And you’re listening to the Selling More Homes Media Network.
00:00:21:24 – 00:00:27:01
Welcome to Selling More Homes, the Monday morning sales meeting for Jerry Rulo. I’m Scott Stroud.
00:00:27:15 – 00:00:57:20
Every week we bring you interviews with sales and marketing professionals to help you find more buyers, close more sales and earn more money in this challenging housing market, whether you are a realtor, builder, sales and marketing manager or new home specialist. This program has been designed just for you, selling more homes. The Monday morning sales meeting is a production of the Selling More Homes Media Network. So get ready to listen, take notes and enjoy this week’s program.
00:01:10:29 – 00:01:32:04
Welcome to selling my home media network. I’m very well. I’m Scott Stroud. They stopped they were off for another week here and I’m back from New Orleans and had an unbelievable experience working with the Make It Right foundation, doing the marketing stuff for them, the four rebuilding the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
00:01:32:14 – 00:01:37:15
Now, how is that going? How’s the project going? How is the rebuilding going around the Ninth Ward?
00:01:38:16 – 00:02:10:05
Lots of activity. And what I understand when I was there, they told me there was minimal activity. But there are people who went to their houses, new houses under construction, the new housing plans. I mean, there’s still an unbelievable jobs landscaping with with green landscaping to absorb the water. And I mean, this is just an awesome experience to see what’s going on. Finally, somebody is doing something to help the people there in New Orleans. So thanks to Brad the good.
00:02:10:14 – 00:02:35:25
You know, what intrigued me about this is that now that they have a chance to rebuild, they’re doing a lot of things right. They’re building according to current technologies. And like you said, the green energy efficiency planning for the future. I think that’s a good thing. It’s a model. In the months and years to come, there’ll be a lot of us visiting there just to take a look at what they’ve done when in rebuilding and the type of technologies and and resources that they’ve used.
00:02:37:17 – 00:02:57:14
And out of the solar panels and a lot of them are very energy efficient windows and, you know, just energy efficiency as far as our heating and cooling. So, you know, the tiles or the heating and cooling bills are going to be drastically lower than any other house that they have lived in in the past.
00:02:57:25 – 00:02:59:14
Once again, a model for every place.
00:03:00:15 – 00:03:16:23
Well, listen, I’m in California today and we have an interview with Ronnie Earle said it was outside of California, but I went through different areas with her. We had Bonnie on the air before and kind of excited about today’s program.
00:03:16:25 – 00:03:31:09
Bonnie has got such a wealth of information and a great perspective. I mean, she truly has her finger on the pulse of the housing industry, and she’s always got something to share with this that’s interesting and important when she visits.
00:03:32:20 – 00:03:36:21
All the while, we flip the tables today and why don’t get her on the air?
00:03:36:24 – 00:03:38:03
All right, I’ll do that.
00:03:40:00 – 00:03:42:12
Bonnie, welcome back to our program. Thanks for joining us.
00:03:43:04 – 00:03:45:12
Thank you, Scott. It’s wonderful to be here.
00:03:45:25 – 00:04:08:08
You just got back from Hawaii and you had a two day presentation there on mastering the present building for the future. Those are basically two topics in one. But I’m going to ask you to do the impossible and boil down that two day presentation into a 20 or 30 minute discussion with us, if you can today, mastering the present, building the future. What’s the gist of that?
00:04:09:01 – 00:04:49:00
Well, one of the things that we’re facing and I’ll certainly try to really talk about this transition, because I think it is a very, very serious and critical and complex transition that we have because we’ve been in a four year recession and downturn in the marketplace. And it’s really affected us in dramatic ways. We all know this. And as we start to turn the upward momentum, we really need to reach out and find help and find hope and find a reason to lead the marketplace out because the marketplace is counting on us to do this.
00:04:49:17 – 00:05:19:18
And one of the things that I think we need to talk about it is, is what is happening to what’s nationally, because we are getting a lot of help. Scott, a wonderful thing. Yes, certainly the housing recession is over and we are celebrating that fact. But we do need a little bit of an anchor to hold on to right now. And nationally, we have that this new stimulus plan is just tremendous. And it’s the first time homebuyers. We know what it did.
00:05:19:20 – 00:05:51:26
It gave us all a sense of, wow, this is turning around because it did change sales, it did change the momentum. It did change our marketplace. And now that we have an extension and not only an extension of that 8000 dollars for first time home buyers, we have an expanded plan. What excites me about the extent the expanded plan, too, is I think it’s going to tap a market that we haven’t seen in a while because that’s based on selling a home to some of us.
00:05:51:28 – 00:06:24:18
Maybe sixty five hundred dollars may not seem like it will get them moving, but there’s been a lot of, for instance, empty nesters and move up buyers who have been reluctant to to move forward. And I think this is going to give them a little bit of a jumpstart nationally. We also have to look at the fact that the FHA loan program out there at ninety six and a half percent loan to value ratios is is and I just saw this, Scott. I think it was just a couple of days ago that I saw that all new home.
00:06:24:21 – 00:06:37:28
Forty nine percent of new home mortgages have been using the FHA program. Forty nine percent. So that’s an amazing it’s kind of and a positive note.
00:06:38:00 – 00:06:40:05
It’s kind of our new subprime, isn’t it?
00:06:40:07 – 00:06:43:09
It is. And rate. Is that FHA?
00:06:43:19 – 00:07:27:17
It’s so yeah, we would certainly suggest all building companies that they are making sure that they are complying to all of those rules and regulations and get in on that 49 percent. That’s almost half of the mortgages in our new home purchases by FHA. I don’t think that’s just absolutely tremendous. We certainly no question about it. We’re looking at that appraisal situation which needs to be addressed. I was talking speaking of Hawaii, I was talking to the government affairs in Hawaii at the VA and a lot of work now that the stimulus package for for the tax credits have been extended.
00:07:27:25 – 00:07:41:27
Our bill pack in government affairs folks are working diligently to see if we can’t rectify some of those appraisals where they are using, certainly in the appraisals, using distressed homes to be comparable to our brand new housing.
00:07:41:29 – 00:08:07:09
So I think that’s on the horizon. Something is going to be done to help us out in that. So I think we do have a lot of very great things to celebrate. Certainly a delicate balance still as we manage what we’re still working on. Opportunities are out there to turn our companies around, though, in major, major ways. But it does mean risking failure. We can’t stand behind the slump in the market anymore because that’s overweight.
00:08:07:18 – 00:08:28:18
By the way, it was built a radio that started that march. And I wanted to share with you that we took that also and we took it to the state of Hawaii. And they have now deemed it was eleven, nine or nine, that the housing recession in the state of Hawaii is now over.
00:08:28:20 – 00:08:32:27
So thank you for that good builder. We’re glad everybody is very excited.
00:08:32:29 – 00:08:39:09
They are blasting everybody and letting them know that it’s time to move forward. The.
00:08:40:00 – 00:08:59:26
Certainly housing is doing so, and in the past, when I think back of things that have happened in the past, it’s says great ideas and developments and all sorts of things. They all seem to come during a transition from difficult times because I think it’s a period of adjustment and that we learn most. Would you agree?
00:08:59:29 – 00:09:06:15
I would. In times of adversity or when we we have to learn new ways to adapt and move forward.
00:09:07:17 – 00:09:41:06
Right now, one of the things also, too, that we have been doing in our all of our companies and the building companies across America is we tighten our belts and that needed to be done, I’m sure, even in the in the heyday. And so we face this market pretty lean and in pretty good shape, hopefully to to move forward. And now we just need the courage to reach out for that target market and build to that market. And I know I’m excited about it. I jotted down a few items that all of us can be doing.
00:09:41:15 – 00:10:12:29
And the first one would be to as we move into the future, at least the first one would be to reinvent or make sure that we have a point of differentiation in what we do. I think one thing in the recessionary times or those last four years that we went through, we had a tendency to copy to to to do be doing what other homebuilders were doing, whether it was discounting or making deals or all the different things we were doing.
00:10:13:01 – 00:10:37:27
We’re trying to kind of balance that. And now it’s time to kind of move out ahead of the pack. And hopefully this recession has caused us to have the time to stand back and look at ourselves, know who we are, and claim the differences that we have. And now it’s time to tell the world about them, because we I think we all know that people are attracted mainly to our differences, not to our similarities.
00:10:38:07 – 00:11:18:23
They want to know what we’re going to be doing better than what we do, different from all the others out there. Not the copycat situation. No. To understand with great clarity what creates value for the customers in your marketplace that your target market, I think, has got lost in this one a little bit. We were we were in more in a survival mode than anything else. And I’m not sure we really talk to our customers. I’m not sure we survey our buyers to find out why they chose us and what in that particular home is what they need to solve their problems.
00:11:19:00 – 00:11:58:04
It isn’t about money. It’s about building them a home and a location for value, price and position that so that they have a life, the life and the lifestyle that they’re seeking. And so I think we really need to be and I know we see this all the time. I think all of us do want to do this, but I’m not sure we really had the the time, the energy, the creativity as we were working so diligently to kind of dig out, to really concentrate and focus on what is really value to the consumer, the consumer that we are the segment of the marketplace that we’re trying to attract.
00:11:58:29 – 00:12:04:19
Number three, be diligent about changing who and what you are. This is a great time to do that.
00:12:04:21 – 00:12:36:01
Go back to the mission statement, find out who you want to be in the market, whether it is to if you were more regional, it is time to shrink back into a more neighborhood builder, whether it’s time to grow and absorb and reach out and wherever it is what you want to do and that unique selling opportunity that you and only you alone have mastered very, very important. And that is to have the courage to do that because it does take risk. It is frightening. We sort of hanging back to the camp.
00:12:36:03 – 00:12:42:28
This is a time that that many people will sort of say and a little comfort niche and not pick out a little bit.
00:12:43:00 – 00:13:15:09
But, you know, you’ve got to kind of turtle have them stick their head out a little once in a while to, you know, get through the ride as you’re building towards the future, find that niche in product and price in your own marketplace. It is not being served and not being delivered. And I am seeing all over and it’s gone. I’m sure you are as well all over America where these niches are being found and they are being served and we’re into lotteries, we’re into camp out and so forth, because it is amazing.
00:13:15:11 – 00:13:41:14
It’s amazing. Sure. We have a lot of inventory up there. That was same old, same old in a way. And we were going to have to work through a lot of that. But let’s, you know, clean slate and move forward and find that that that really when you’re quintile and your your research is finding that niche, that no one else is put in a price and a product or in that marketplace. It’s just it’s wonderful.
00:13:41:20 – 00:13:52:00
The body on these on these these three points that you mentioned here, the first was find your point of differentiation. Second, understand what creates value for your customers and then be willing to change.
00:13:52:17 – 00:14:05:00
What are some specifics that you’re seeing people find as far as niches or points of differentiation or what is it that the new consumers are placing value on? And I know you charge.
00:14:05:10 – 00:14:22:26
Thank you for asking that. I’ll share with you something, and because I had spent about four weeks in Hawaii, that’s more pleasant on my mind, but we were actually actually just absolutely blown away with this because they are struggling as of all markets are.
00:14:23:20 – 00:14:54:07
And but we have a builder client over there that is has just recently opened up a neighborhood. And in this case and again, each neighborhood is going to have its value component and it’s in the component. But in this case, what was not being served was a single family condominium, a new product design that he’s had in the works for some time and brought it out in the marketplace. Very risky in a way to be bringing it out now.
00:14:54:14 – 00:14:58:29
Another thing that he had is that he had a price point slightly under
00:15:00:15 – 00:15:22:23
a right at four hundred thousand dollars. And so he was able to certainly shrink the square footage in there, but give the space in the rooms exactly what that market is is asking for, because most of the condominiums are attached and perhaps in high rises and so forth. But it was in this case, he drove a product in and a price point.
00:15:23:09 – 00:15:57:18
And if the amount of that, it was really interesting because the sales manager had said, do you think that in the first month we can we can build eight and and the sales associates, I think in the first month I’ll sell 16 as she left for work that one evening for the grand opening. Then the next day, cars started pulling up and sleeping bags came out. It was not a it was not an orchestrated and organized camp out. And the next morning she came to work and they were camped out everywhere. And of course, it took four to two hours to sell 16 of their birthdays.
00:15:57:20 – 00:16:00:25
Wow. And so and I have heard these stories.
00:16:00:27 – 00:16:16:21
I’ve seen these stories along the way. So that is that is in this case, they are working. This particular builder said, I feel a need 140 million Americans that are in age 18 to 45.
00:16:17:09 – 00:16:25:00
And you mentioned the new consumer, ages 18 to 45. Is this is this a viable market for builders today?
00:16:25:29 – 00:16:33:27
Absolutely. Absolutely. And the reason that we know it, I love to look at look at history a little bit.
00:16:33:29 – 00:16:55:24
And history was just a few months ago what really brought us out of the still a little bit of a downward spiral, if you will. A month ago was and it turned us and if you take a look at all the economic charts and graphs and so forth that you and I look at on a daily basis, that tip happened.
00:16:55:29 – 00:17:27:22
Right, is the first time homebuyer tax credit stimulus package came out. And that’s a market because of the price point. Another thing, Scott, that I’m seeing is because of the stimulus package, if we will build a product for that first time homebuyer, the first time home and sitting in the background because it went from 2000 to 2006, they could not even touch the market is the homes were going up. So and I’m generalizing, of course, but the homes were going to prices are going up so fast, they could not even get there.
00:17:27:28 – 00:17:56:21
Now that things have stabilized, interest rates are at an all time low and now we have a tax credit to stimulate them to move out. If you can touch that first time homebuyer in what they’re looking for, they love number one, they love green. They will they will share they will trade off space for green. They’re very environmentally conscious, probably more so than than the baby boomers as a whole generation. And there are many things that they do differently.
00:17:56:23 – 00:18:09:08
That space and the ambience and the large, you know, two storey great big family homes are not exactly necessarily what they want, that they’re looking for some some other issues.
00:18:09:10 – 00:18:20:26
There were more favorable this time around for smaller rather than larger, were more favorable for cash versus the cash. Certainly those two are not equal.
00:18:20:28 – 00:18:36:25
But but there’s more favorability than ever because we’ve you know, we sort of you know, when you’ve had a had an almost slowdown and somewhat stop market place and housing for four years, it’s it’s it’s the mind that the consumer has changed as well.
00:18:37:10 – 00:19:06:13
And we also have to look at the fact that our baby boomer that we built, we built so, so much to the baby boom. We did a fabulous job. There were many of them. It was a viable market in the heyday for the baby boomers are 50 and 60 years old. And moving forward, their needs are not the same that they were 10 years ago. And so when they were still had families at home and still thinking in terms of move up, move up, move up, many of them they are.
00:19:06:24 – 00:19:21:19
They’ve moved down, those down, those down. So there’s an adjustment just in demographics, I mean, that’s a small minor part of it. But just the demographics and the way we live in our homes through demographics of age is totally different.
00:19:22:03 – 00:19:29:15
And we’re and we’re in the transition now where they have the either or not now or will soon not be the dominant force in the marketplace.
00:19:30:03 – 00:19:48:10
Absolutely. You’re absolutely correct. Now they’re healthier. They’re living longer, but and living in their homes longer, perhaps. But still, they’re staying in the same movement to people in their 70s does not happen as frequently as it does, obviously, in your 30s, 40s.
00:19:48:18 – 00:20:21:16
So it’s a whole different way to look at the marketplace and and to analyze the marketplace, certainly. And this is a little off subject, but certainly how we go after that marketplace has changed tremendously. And you build a radio, have just inspired us and educated us and helped us so much. And the new technology for that to keep up just to get our messages out. And that’s been tremendous. I would certainly suggest that you do everything you can to have a position in your company to attract that marketplace.
00:20:22:02 – 00:20:27:03
Good. You know, and I think you’re right about that. That’s the that’s the emerging market right there.
00:20:28:02 – 00:20:34:27
Right? Right. Yeah. And, you know, it’s interesting because we’re catching both of them, to be very honest with you.
00:20:34:29 – 00:20:44:26
You may be feeling you’re going after with a smaller product, with a more convenient product even to work live environment product.
00:20:45:04 – 00:21:20:14
We’re doing that around the country a lot to any of those young professionals, young professional couples and even young families. But we also catch the back end of the wave of the baby boomer because they love being with many of them, love being with young people. And they want a much more convenient location, close to all sorts of services and facilities and an easy transition to them. So you can probably catch both ways where we would not have had we’ve been looking at a 40 year old woman.
00:21:21:04 – 00:21:51:04
Yeah, it’s a good point. So it’s kind of an interesting economy that’s that’s happening at this point. But I mean, these are all predictions and based on some things that we’re seeing. But I think all everybody would agree that that nationally we’re seeing a lot of very good reason to not only hope, but see that this is over with and and so forth. Yeah. The average number for I’d actually say, you know, we just must get over it ourselves.
00:21:51:06 – 00:21:55:19
And sometimes sometimes we just have to shake ourself into it because
00:21:57:08 – 00:22:00:01
we you know, the supply and demand.
00:22:00:16 – 00:22:32:19
I know we we looked at this in September and our fall board meeting, supply and demand of housing out there. We have about a seven little of a seven month supply out there and a healthy supply is six to six and a half months. So, I mean, we were just you know, we’ve moved down from about 11 months. Supply to the inventory is not, you know, strong and in serious as it has been in the in the past. So, I mean, we still have some some little rocky points in the in the economy.
00:22:32:24 – 00:22:40:03
But the thing that concerns me probably as much as anything, is ten point two percent unemployment, that concern.
00:22:40:08 – 00:22:43:23
Yeah, yeah. That’s a very serious, serious situation.
00:22:44:07 – 00:23:10:28
And so we’re going to have to find the needle in the haystack and and think when I was talking in Hawaii, I was talking to the sales teams over there and had mentioned that they probably not coming to our sales environment. They’re they’re probably more conservative, the ones that are most qualified, the ones with the 700, 800 FICO scores, you know, and so we’re going to have to do an awful lot of all prospecting.
00:23:11:00 – 00:23:43:14
I know you’ve had programs in the past of how to get that traffic unit into our into our neighborhoods, into our model complexes for parties and for other activities and for chili cook offs and everything. And that is true because we’re going to have to kind of go after a lot of these folks a little bit differently. But we have to lead the pack. We have to let everybody know it’s over and and we have to get over it first before we can feel comfortable about that. That’s a good number five. Yes. Number five, do not forget that new consumer.
00:23:43:16 – 00:23:54:03
And that’s what we were talking about. And it just won’t duplicate that. But it’s the number five point that I had had with those six hundred and sixty million people out there that we need to address
00:23:55:18 – 00:24:29:17
and the different things that they are particularly liking and trying to get to them. Number six, everybody in the company must be a salesman to that. I had challenged the folks that back in Honolulu to to make sure that we don’t forget to blast everybody, every employee and the company just have them on a group and e blast every time a sale is made. You know, we’ve always talked about ring a bell when a sale is made, but make sure that they are talking about it.
00:24:29:19 – 00:24:35:13
When the receptionist at the main office picks up the phone, I’d love them to say it’s a great day and happy homes.
00:24:35:15 – 00:25:07:12
And we just sold another home to a very, very happy homeowner. And what can we do for you today? And and just just have that message everywhere. I actually thought of it before. I can really talk about things like this. Maybe I should try it. And so then the Safeway supermarket and in line I you do get a lot of attention when you have a broken cast of a broken, broken arm in your arm in a sling and you can’t do anything. And so people were being very nice.
00:25:07:14 – 00:25:33:01
And I can’t to the line and to the lady that was helping me and people trying to sign my little ticket and everything. And I said, isn’t it exciting that the recession that I got this from Delta Radio folks got I have to tell you this, isn’t it exciting that the housing recession is now over right there, right in front of everybody and the person this is a true story. True story.
00:25:34:21 – 00:25:40:15
The person at the cash cashing my groceries out. She said it is.
00:25:40:23 – 00:26:13:03
And the person behind me said, you know, that’s interesting that you should see that because the person that my neighbor down the street just sold their home, the man behind her said, you know, I have been thinking that maybe something has happened in her life and the whole piece of the person bagging groceries asked me. She said, Do you think my husband and I would love to buy a home? Do you think this is a good time? Wow. And that happened right in one line in the supermarket. Nobody thought so until somebody made a suggestion.
00:26:13:05 – 00:26:13:24
How about that?
00:26:13:26 – 00:26:26:16
And it’s amazing to me. And I think I have to really give you folks a lot of credit for that, because you you really kind of empowered us to go out and say that.
00:26:26:18 – 00:26:51:04
And then some of the statistics that you and I have discussed today shows us that even Wall Street is behind this, as CNN is saying, you know, is cautiously optimistic that it’s over. And and so we have a lot of support now. And so if we’re in the industry, shouldn’t we be touting this to the rooftops?
00:26:51:10 – 00:27:01:26
And I appreciate build a radio for that. Yeah. And there you were in line. You gave all those people permission to believe it, right? Then they all embraced it. See, I think that was our point.
00:27:01:28 – 00:27:10:27
Is it people just they just need to be given the permission do to to believe that it’s over and they will the look like it. Which was your point. Get over it.
00:27:11:25 – 00:27:21:03
Right. Right. You know, I was amazed that as they were listening to this, they started thinking about the positive things that they had seen.
00:27:22:08 – 00:27:36:21
You know, a house being sold down the street from them for something that is all of a sudden instead of the negative, they started saying, you know, that’s interesting that you should say that because I saw this, this and this.
00:27:37:01 – 00:27:46:09
That is interesting. Do you really think so? Wow. And then, of course, all of us in the industry can point out interest rates. Can you believe this?
00:27:46:24 – 00:27:56:19
And as long as the government and we don’t know how long, but as long as the government continues that they’re going to give opportunities to people, that we just really don’t want them to lose out.
00:27:57:04 – 00:28:09:10
Because when these prices and they they certainly have already started moving up. I mean, it’s a slow climb out, but we don’t want them to lose it. You don’t want to want I mean, now is the time to buy. You don’t buy at the top of the market.
00:28:09:12 – 00:28:19:01
You buy it at the bottom of the market. So it’s you know, it’s it is it’s just really, really exciting.
00:28:19:12 – 00:28:37:04
And and then a number of staff and I just had mentioned to you in price adjustments, price adjustments should be over with. I mean, if what we’re saying and what statistics are telling us is true, it’s not you know, we’re not distressed anymore.
00:28:37:16 – 00:28:49:10
And and so we just have to learn to say no. And again, I have one company, one company that is still discounting and I have one company that says no, just says now.
00:28:49:15 – 00:29:03:21
And we’re writing scripts for them on how to talk to them about the fact that you don’t want to to be working with a homebuilding company, that today they’re one price, tomorrow they’re lower, tomorrow they’re higher, tomorrow they’re lower even.
00:29:04:07 – 00:29:11:16
It’s very devalues the neighborhood in such a way that it’s very frightening to be a part of that neighborhood.
00:29:11:18 – 00:29:27:16
So so we we really need to stop that completely, completely making sure that we’re priced according to market and that we are priced according to value, but learn how to sell the values and and so forth.
00:29:27:18 – 00:29:28:03
So it’s just a great, great, great point out. There are many things are happening.
00:29:35:19 – 00:29:49:16
I’m looking I’m excited to see what’s going to happen as building companies do emerge and they do things such as gentry builders in Honolulu did. And they’re doing they’re catching this wave. And and that’s good for all of us.
00:29:49:21 – 00:29:53:16
That is good for all of us when we see those kinds of things going on.
00:29:54:23 – 00:30:28:07
Well, it sure is, and and so so when we do the first part of your presentation and what we’ve talked about is mastering the present, and that is getting a grasp on where we are today and then the building for the future. What what points do you have that that will transition us as we develop ourselves now? We get a grasp on on the current market, on selling value, on differentiation and in grasping the true value of our product.
00:30:28:22 – 00:30:30:15
What do you see as far as the future growth?
00:30:32:00 – 00:31:17:28
I think we’re going to have to each one of us look reevaluate, go back to the drawing board and find out who. And I think I’d mentioned that earlier, who and what we are and who and what we want to be and then see if if what that is. And our companies and those redeeming qualities in our company is something the market is looking for. But in product, I always go into product, price and place and take a look at where you’re looking to build, what product you’re trying to build and who you want to build it for and make sure you’re doing those surveys to make sure you have the right product in mind that you’re sitting, that you have that those numbers.
00:31:18:06 – 00:31:50:15
Find out where your employment bases are, where those qualified people are and build them and not necessarily build what you’ve been building in the past. So it may be we talked about that. It may be cleaning the slate, getting rid of the old moving forward into a new seargent of product. It may be in a place you may want to move into urban. If you’ve been suburban, you may want to do opposite things. But looking at your marketplace, it’s difficult.
00:31:50:17 – 00:32:22:18
I can I can give you examples of them, but it’s difficult to know the markets. But if you if all the builders will go back to the basic research that is so needed to do just just to do the graph of what is out there, it’s a supply and demand situation. What is out there is is is all about what competition, what is what is coming out of the pipeline, what are foreclosures. And short sales are what the resale market is. Those numbers are easy to get.
00:32:22:28 – 00:32:54:25
They are all on computers in different NAHB. Your local can do this and are can give you all of this information, but that information is easy to grasp and yet find out by square footage and price point where everybody is and take a look at a niche and a 20 percent part of the marketplace that is not being served. If you go in there, you can’t build them fast enough. Good to you cannot build them fast enough.
00:32:55:00 – 00:33:30:04
What happened is we built the same things. We overbuilt in the same unit. Florida is in the tank because they they took condominiums, went, went from condominiums right on the beautiful ocean to fifty miles inland and built the same thing at the same price. And they’re stuck with them. Very obvious that we overbuilt in certain certain price points. They ask using certain product points. And and so, you know, we’ve got to find the market if we have seven, seven months supply out there, we have buyers that need homes.
00:33:30:09 – 00:34:00:25
We need to find out what that need is, where they where they’re price positioning is what they will give give up to get to get into home ownership. And they are ready and they’re anxious and they want to buy. I can’t tell you how many. And you talked about the 18 to 45 year old, how many people in the twenty in their 20s that are so anxious to be able to buy. It was not like this before. They were still off in Europe someplace.
00:34:00:27 – 00:34:39:21
But I think because of the recession and because they’ve been held down so long that we just have this surge of people that are saying, help me, help me. There was a guy at the pool that came to me and I just walked down to talk to the site manager there in Maui. And and he came up to me and he works he works on the phone in the condominium. And he said, please help me. My girlfriend and I have scores. I asked point blank, ask him, what are your credit scores there in the eight hundreds? But he’s scared to death because of what he hears and what he sees and everything.
00:34:39:25 – 00:35:01:05
I mean, and he it’s just an absolute ready, willing and able person. And we got him with a real estate agent. We got him involved in looking and they’re in their in contract right now. And, of course, if you can find people and. 700 schools, 800 scores. The lenders love you and because we do have a financing for natural,
00:35:03:02 – 00:35:15:29
a little bit of a stumble here because, you know, not everybody is a credit, scores are as clean as they need to be with the tightening of the of the banks. But if you can find those people and build a home for them, you got it.
00:35:16:01 – 00:35:46:14
And here they are saying, please help me, please help me. That’s that is as big a sign that the recession is over as any. Yeah. Look, Barney, this has been this has been a very important discussion. And I appreciate you sharing these points because you’ve given us a great perspective and a great reason for hope as we as we look to the current situation, the emerging market that’s there. And you’ve given us some excellent points as to how to embrace it and how to move forward with it.
00:35:46:20 – 00:35:50:02
So really, thank you so much for your perspective and being with us.
00:35:50:25 – 00:35:57:06
Oh, my my pleasure, Scott. As Yogi Berra said, the future just ain’t what it used to be. Is that.
00:35:57:08 – 00:36:19:27
But I certainly believe it’s going to be better. And as we’re better prepared to do the right things, the right way to help America, it’s our time to build better and better homes for these folks. And it’s not necessarily about faith and it’s not necessarily about price points. But we can do it. And I’m encouraged. We have fabulous building companies out there and they’re going to do it.
00:36:21:00 – 00:36:34:15
Well, yeah, it’s time. And I think that there’s this general there’s optimism and sense of hope that we’re seeing in the marketplace today. So, again, Bonnie, thank you for your very positive perspective and for being with us today.
00:36:34:18 – 00:36:37:09
Thank you, Scott. Have a wonderful day.
00:36:42:26 – 00:36:53:17
Scott, you know, some of the points that she made, I mean, I disagree with their common sense things that I think we just need to say, oh, yeah, well, you know, that’s the way it should be.
00:36:53:26 – 00:37:11:18
Yeah. You know, you would you think it’s common sense, but when she puts it together, it’s her attitude. It’s the hopefulness with which he embraces the market and where we are. She makes it sound like it’s this is the most exciting time to be in the housing industry that there has ever been. And you know what? I think I agree with her.
00:37:12:06 – 00:37:26:23
I do, too. And you know what the statement says it’s time to stop following everyone else. Yeah, well, set the pace and let the people follow you and say, yeah, that’s that’s being proactive, doing something different.
00:37:27:06 – 00:37:57:24
Differentiate. Yeah. And get back in touch with the market. And she’s right. It’s been kind of a catharsis for the last four years. The market completely changed, just like we were talking at the beginning about New Orleans in that Ninth Ward and how they’re rebuilding much differently than what was there. Well, I think the whole industry is changed. The markets changed. What people are looking for have changed. And I appreciated the way the body said we need to look to the future, build for the future, master the present, get over it and get on with it.
00:37:59:11 – 00:38:15:24
You know, the you know, OK, you know, let’s start thinking about the new consumers that you mentioned there, a hundred and sixty million people between 18 and 45. Some of the things that they do and how they market, how they sort this out. I mean, it’s a whole new world out there.
00:38:15:29 – 00:38:38:01
It is. It’s a whole new world. And they are there’s opportunities there to catch this next wave. And as housing builds back and Bonnie expressed it, our previous guests have expressed it that it’s going to be a gradual building. But we’ve got another decade of growth here in front of us in the housing industry.
00:38:39:09 – 00:38:46:03
Great, great. And, you know, next week we have another interview to ask about who’s going to be our next week.
00:38:46:16 – 00:39:11:23
Next week, we have Dave Porter with us. Dave, that comes out of the lending industry and he’s been very involved in mortgage in the mortgage industry for many, many years. And he’s going to talk about a new type of mortgage and he’s going to address lending in general and some of the obstacles and issues that we’re facing with lending. But he’s also going to talk about energy efficient lending next week, and I’m looking forward to that.
00:39:12:26 – 00:39:37:09
Great, great. And then next week, you’re going to be out on the road. I will. And I’m going to still be up in California next week, but again, we have a great interview lined up. And also next week I’ll be doing the online coaching session of our regular several webinars and public relations public relations meetings and how to get your name in print.
00:39:37:23 – 00:39:54:07
Jerry, you have been responsible for something like 50 million dollars in publicity and press for some of your PR clients in the past. Certainly you have a lot to share with us. So I’m glad you’ve decided to share that and to address that topic.
00:39:55:06 – 00:40:14:25
Well, you know, we we’ve all year we’ve had just letters that you and I have lined up and probably within the year up, which we do on one program here coming up with that one at the end of the month, we’re going to wrap up with a theme here, a program within our culture and sharing with me and then with you.
00:40:15:02 – 00:40:43:15
Yeah. And I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those that have joined us for those webinars, one or all of them. Tell you how much we appreciate your participation in that and that we have we’re already planning the 2010 schedule. Well, we’ll have another 18. And we’ve taken your thoughts and your comments as to what you want to hear and put together what we think is going to be a very dynamic program of coaching sessions next year.
00:40:44:21 – 00:41:06:14
Regular listeners can still sign up for the program on December 2nd, but I’m doing a public relations in the middle of the month that dropped on silver and gold right under the radio blackout and sign up for not only the start to the last program for the year, but you can also register for any of the ones that were conducted this year.
00:41:06:16 – 00:41:18:13
And we’ll send you the download recording for we’re still getting people that are purchasing access to the recordings for the first ones that we’ve done. So, yeah, they’re all recorded. They’re all available for immediate download.
00:41:19:27 – 00:41:21:16
Well, next week on Wall.
00:41:21:21 – 00:41:25:24
I’m Scott Stroud and thanks for being with a fellow called.