I’d love to buy, but I can’t sell my house syndrome…
“Plenty of consumers are shopping around for new homes, but they believe they can’t buy until they sell,” states Bob Schultz, President and CEO, Bob Schultz & The New Home Sales Specialists.
He goes on to write that despite all the negative press, hype, and conversation about how bad the housing market is, prospective buyers are still coming out and shopping for new homes. Perhaps not in droves like during the go-go days, but nonetheless, those showing up are indicating an interest. They’re just confused, and it’s the responsibility of new-home sales professionals to help them sort through the clutter of that confusion and get them to think it through. (more…)
Color forecast by Sherwin Williams – Earth inspired rules in 2012
The Sherwin-Williams Colormix 2012 forecast proves a color palette doesn’t need to stray far from its roots to make a big design impact. Forty hues highlighted in the 2012 selection indicate Earth-inspired color family groups with reds, blues, greens and neutrals dominating the palette. (more…)
The business of being a builder
In business, we are always looking for ways to communicate a message or a concept. This can be difficult, but thinking about things from different perspectives can be a powerful way to communicate and perhaps make a few light bulbs go off.
Most of us have heard the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Another adage is that a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures, like the metaphors in this post – they are not intended to be taken literally, but rather to help add some clarity.
The title “builder” has many different meanings. The business of being a builder is as diverse as the business of fine dining is to the business of fast food. Both are about feeding a customer. Both are about getting a customer to come back. Both are about making a profit. Both have guidelines and regulations. However, we all know they are dramatically different businesses. (more…)
New homes get a boost from Zillow
According to Builder Online, on Thursday morning, Zillow.com, the online real estate database, introduced a new search function on its website that’s giving greater visibility to new homes that are available in markets around the country.
Zillow’s site has 22 million viewers per month, and the goal of this launch “is to give more exposure to new homes for all consumers, not just those who come to the site predisposed to buy a house,” says Greg Schwartz, Zillow’s chief revenue officer, last week. (Builder agreed to delay posting its story about the launch until Zillow had worked out the technical details.)
The first stage of this launch includes changes to Zillow’s website and mobile application, through which Zillow receives about 30% of its weekend traffic.
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Ready to build your custom home? It’s easier than you think!
When you hear the word “custom” associated with the home building industry, you probably think of a one-of-a kind home with everything you ever dreamed, right down to the door knobs, at a price reserved for people with large, six-figure incomes. At one time, that was probably correct. But things are changing.
Today, there are myriad custom home options and a variety of different levels of custom home builders in the Houston area. There’s still the full-time, custom home builder who builds a few homes each year. There are higher-volume builders, who will customize a home by moving walls or adding square footage. There are even higher-volume builders who offer custom options in just a few areas of the home, such as kitchens with sunrooms or kitchens as part of the family room.
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NAHB – New Homes Strengthen Economy Year Round
According to NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) Chairman Bob Nielsen, ”Home building is a key driver of the American economy. By generating economic activity including new income and jobs, purchases of goods and services, and revenue for local governments, housing—which has historically accounted for around 17 percent of the GDP—can put America back to work.”
The one-year local impacts of building 100 single-family homes in a typical metro area amount to $21.1 million in local income, $2.2 million in taxes and other local government revenue, and according to the economists at NAHB, 324 local jobs.
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