April Meeting Update

Posted by hbranewhaven HBRA Member     0 Comment(s)    Add a Comment 
05/21/2012 03:15 PM

April Membership Meeting – by Alisa Batten, CEO

Our April membership meeting was held at Anthony’s Ocean View on the 19^th and included a presentation by Joanne Carroll on 2012 Housing Trends.  Joanne’s synopsis is below, and you will be able to find the whole report in the next edition of Connecticut Builder magazine!

JMC Resources Residential marketing and communications

HOUSING TRENDS 2012

Here to Stay

• •          Using Mobile web to shop for a home
• •          Using Social Media to generate conversation and buzz
• •          Adding more Outdoor Living features to new homes
• •          Smaller Lot Sizes – decreased 50% in last 10 years
• •          Smaller Home Sizes - should be building same size home as you did in 2003 – size of homes will stabilize at just under 2,500 square feet nationally.
• •          Energy-efficient homes – best way to compete with Re-sales
• •          Multi-generational housing – grown 30% in last 10 years
• •          Rental Housing – build now, convert to ownership when market changes
• •          Selective Lifting of Age-Restriction on 55+ Developments

NAHB/First American Improving Markets INDEX

The list of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded slightly to include 101 metropolitan areas in April, according to the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), released on April 5th. Thirty-five states (including Connecticut) are now represented by at least one market on the list. And the one CT market showing improvement was New Haven – up in permits, housing prices and employment.

Joanne Carroll is a marketing and public relations specialist focusing on the promotion of Connecticut builders, remodelers, land developers and housing suppliers. Her firm, JMC Resources, combines traditional PR with internet marketing and social media. The PR and publicity campaigns Joanne produces, get her clients, their homes and their products noticed, and help grow their businesses.

Joanne Carroll publishes Connecticut Builder magazine and produces the HOBI Awards for the state Home Builders Association.  Joanne can be reached at 203 453-5420.

We also had the opportunity to hear from other members about market conditions which included comments that: Calls are coming in from some custom builders, mainly on the shore (where one builder’s market for $1-2 million homes has been strong for 6-8 years, but he sees the end of that market coming), and the majority of business is coming from remodeling;  The competition is heavy for customers with other competing companies; People are gravitating toward medium to low end priced products and China is beating out locally made products; The cost of lumber will probably go up about 10% and the unions and speculators have a lot to do with that; There is a need for companies to get more into technology and web marketing to stay competitive; There are still issues with lending, but there is more confidence;  Traffic for one realtor has been up recently, but he noted that interest rates are starting to climb and land prices are not coming down;  Some consumers are spending less and are more cautious, but there are a lot of new customers coming into one showroom and there is a tick in multi-family and apartment improvement projects. 

Other highlights included:  New member, Frank D’Ostilio of Real Living/Wareck D’Ostilio Real Estate, mentioned he is currently lending and for builders to contact him;  Joe Migliaro of L. Suzio Concrete mentioned that concrete prices have gone up the past few years due to environmental regulations, but L. Suzio has held their pricing for the past 3 years;  Neil Fleisher of Connecticut Lighting Centers introduced his new employee, Jim Fellows- who has 30 years of expertise in the commercial and residential markets, who will be heading up their brand new division for decorative hardware and noted the showroom will be fully operational within 45-60 days!

Special thanks to Sandra Woodhouse of MBI Company Group who donated 2 bottles of wine for the raffle.  If anyone would like to donate items for future dinners and have the opportunity to briefly introduce yourself to the attendees, please contact the HBRA office.

Upcoming Events:

Our next  Membership Meeting will be on Wednesday, May 16^th at Anthony’s Ocean View and it will be our last regular dinner until September (outside of our golf outing dinner.)  We will be honoring our Builder of the Year (Joe Ciarleglio of Luanci Construction), Remodeler of the Year (Kevin Ahern of Litchfield Builders), Associate of the Year (Debra Wolfenson of Superior Hearth, Spas & Leisure), two scholarship winners, milestone memberships (5 years: Stately Stair, F & P Development ; 10 years: National Lumber; 15 years: Viking Kitchen Cabinets, Superior Hearth, Spas & Leisure, Cyclone Home Systems, Petra Construction Corp., Litchfield Builders; 20 years: Iannini Development; 35 years: Franklin Construction) and SPIKE awards, as well as, presenting our nominating report and hearing a legislative session wrap-up from Bill Ethier of the ST HBA.  Make your reservation ASAP- this promises to be a great night for networking!

Our SAM Tram (sales & marketing  tour) will kick off on Friday, May 11 and will visit 5 builder’s sites in North Haven, East Haven and Branford.  If you are interested in hopping on the tour (we have 2 full luxury coaches reserved), please contact the office for the reservation form and full details.  Those who would like to learn about the building process, enjoy a coffee and bagel breakfast, tour the sites, hear a presentation about energy efficient building, and have lunch at the last site…all for $10, should make a reservation NOW!

Our Annual Golf Outing will be held on Monday, June 18^th at the Oronoque Country Club in Stratford.  It is only $160 per golfer which includes golf, cart, lunch, dinner and all drinks on the course.  You can bring a foursome or sign up individually and we will place you in a foursome.  There are many sponsorship opportunities available.  If you don’t play golf, but would like to market your company at the outing, we are looking for raffle prizes and goodie-bag items as well. Please call Alisa if you are interested in golfing and/or being a sponsor.

As always, please remember to do business with members.