Resale is a Leading Indicator of New Product Opportunities

Resale is a Leading Indicator of New Product Opportunities

Kevin Wilzbach - Monday, May 19, 2014 | Comments (0)

 

Resale is a Leading Indicator of New Product Opportunities . . . or

(Item 5 of the top 10 reasons why Builders MUST know resale)

As we continue to share with you the individual elements that make up The top 10 Reasons Why Builders Must Know Resale, it should be clear by now that New Home Marketing Services (NHMS) believes strongly in the power of resale to affect a residential builder’s success in the marketplace.  What we do as a company; the products we deliver; the services we offer, and many of the blogs we write are geared towards helping builders appreciate how resale can impact their business.  For that reason, we believe it is paramount for builders to know resale. 

The list of 10 items we identified as the critical reasons why builders need to know resale comes from years working with builders and brokers. In this blog, we’d like to explore item 5 – “Resale is a Leading Indicator of New Product Opportunities”.

At first glance, it may be easy to discount the argument based upon the blog title.  “I mean, really, how can housing stock that may be 5, 10, 20, or 30 years old, tell me anything about what I should build today?”  Actually, it can tell you quite a lot, particularly if you know how to dissect what’s happening in the resale space.

First, pay attention to what’s listing and selling in the resale space.  Conversely, pay attention to what’s not listing and/or not selling.  Then figure out what that information is telling you.  The beauty of resale housing stock data is that we can learn a lot about each listing.  Each piece of information is a different field that a builder can evaluate.  Some of the information that is normally available includes total room count, bathroom and bedroom counts, number of garages spaces, type of garage, days on market (DOM), and whether the home has a basement. If a builder takes the time to capture listing and selling data on a regular, ongoing basis, he or she can identify opportunity BASED ON FACT.

Now the builder can get really smart.  How are first floor masters trending?  What’s the absorption rate of ranches around my community?  Has there been an uptick in the number of homes selling with a finished basement?  Are buyers purchasing homes with fewer rooms but more square feet?  The list could go on and on.  And at the end of the day, it’s all about using this information to make a conscious decision about starting a spec home or adjusting your plan offerings to take advantage of demand.

A simple example can help bring this to light.  Let’s say a builder has been tracking ranch plan listings and sales.  The builder notices a couple of interesting facts.  First, in a 2.5 mile radius around a particular community, ranch listings are a larger piece of the overall market.  In the last 9 months, ranch sales as a percent of single family sales have increased from 21% to 24%.  Just as importantly, DOM for ranch plans has dropped 22% and months of supply for ranch homes has dropped to 4.8 months of supply.

With this information in hand, the builder steps back to reconsider a couple of things.  First, he or she decides that the next two spec starts will be ranches.  Options and list pricing will be different, but even those decisions are based on fact, drawn from actual sales information.  Second, the builder looks at his or her product offering and decides that the growing demand for ranches is a market opportunity.  The builder recognizes a growing demand for first floor living and decides to introduce a first floor master plan into the product offering for this community. 

Understanding resale allows builders to react quicker to changes in the market place.  Faster reaction time means better product placement and faster sales. Let the resale market help you make more informed product planning decisions and starts.  The end result is likely faster turns with better gross margins.  

 

How not to sell your house (and a few tips for pretty property too)

From murky photos to snapping rusty taps and random clutter, hopeful home vendors face plenty of pitfalls when capturing images to display in real estate listings.

Rusty taps, creepy dolls on beds, dishes on the bench, dirty washing in the laundry and even cat bowls with cat food scattered around them.

These are some of the sales faux pas that have popped up in Trade Me's real estate listings over the past year, as gathered by the Herald.

Agents and vendors from all corners of the country have been pointing and shooting at clutter, pulled curtains, televisions left on, intimate family photos left on walls and dirty towels left hanging in bathrooms.

Take a look at some of the worst Trade Me real estate listings

Gallery

Worst house sale photos

 

Some of the photos were unnecessary, such as a close-up shot of a chipped attic hole in the roof, or a zoomed-in frame of the laundry basin, complete with several loose cords. Quite a few babies in bassinets make it into the shots, as well as older children lounging on couches, lying on beds or playing with toys.

Some photos were of a terrible quality and hard to make out, or included an accidental knee or cat tail in the shot.

Surely the hair straightener left on the bed in a Papatoetoe home wasn't such a good idea? And hopefully the fly spray in the Pongaroa house wasn't an indication of what was to come.

Josh Trevarthen of Angles Photography, which specialises in real estate images, said the main thing before taking photos to help sell your home was to de-clutter.

And opening the curtains was crucial, as long as the exposure was right.

"If there's a nice landscape, you really want to show that," Mr Trevarthen said.

Photographers should make sure their camera was level and not try to get everything in one shot. Shooting into corners of rooms created a sense of more space, he said.

Sometimes having a person in the photo worked in the home's favour, if he or she was placed strategically.

"It can bring a bit of life into the photo, but not if it's just someone wandering around cooking tea."

But it was still so easy to miss small details, Mr Trevarthen said.

"There are so many details you don't see until you get the photo back, pull it up on the computer and there's a window handle that's slightly crooked."

Theresa Fincham of Ultimate Homestaging said simple things made a world of difference - for instance, clear benches and dressing tables, beds made perfectly and dressed with nice pillows and excess artwork on the walls removed.

Where possible, she advised a fresh coat of paint and if curtains were old and tatty, she asked clients to take them off completely.

"Have as much light coming through as possible.

"The entranceway is also very appealing. You don't want old pots cluttering up the doorway. Stand back and really get a visual of what the first impressions will be."

Mrs Fincham said that when dressing a house she placed minimal furniture in rooms to make them look spacious. Rugs and lamp tables next to the lounge suite were important for structure and a colour theme running throughout the entire house helped with flow.

"You want a person to visualise their own furniture in there," Mrs Fincham said.

She said vendors needed to cater to every possible buyer, so it was no use creating too many children's bedrooms in case the buyer had a different family make-up.

It was difficult trying to make changes to a rental property that was for sale when it was tenanted, Mrs Fincham said. If the vendor could afford to, it was worth keeping the home vacant while it was on the market because there was a higher chance of selling for a better price.

The managing director of Auckland's DMI Homestagers, Dinah Malyon, said she took photos before and after she staged a home and the difference was "quite extreme".

"You need to act as if you've already sold, so that's getting rid of all the doilies, the cat bowls, all the family photos from the walls, anything you're not going to use in the next four or five weeks."

Alanah Eriksen

Alanah Eriksen is the New Zealand Herald's property reporter, and assistant chief reporter.

A Buyer's Choice Home Building Inspector TOP Award Winners Midwest Canada April 2014

Congratulations April 2014 Midwest Canada Top Award Winners!     Presidents Club! Rueben and Jeremy Meyer The first franchise in the Midwest to hit the top designation of Presidents Club! This team continues to lead the way in Canada with excellent service the ABCHI way! Congratulation Gents!   Diamond Award Brent Podruzny Brent is on track for his best year yet with a solid start to 2014. In a mature franchise Brent has proven that there is still room to grow. As the team lead in Northern Alberta Brent also assists with the growth of his colleagues business which we all appreciate. Great work Brent!         Diamond Award Craig Wagner Craig started off 2014 with a plan to crank up some marketing and gain more market share and he has done just that. Amazing what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it. Well done Craig!   Diamond Award Cliff Campbell Cliff will be one of the first franchisees on the Midwest Team to have his masters certificate. With well over 1000 inpections under his belt Cliff has decided to share his knowledge and experience to assist others in their journey. Not sure where he finds the time. Thanks Cliff, great teamwork!   Platinum Award Glenda Black Shown in this picture recieving their rookie franchise of the year award for 2013 Glenda and Dave continue to grow their business each month through consistent innovative marketing. Soon to be the next radio celeb in Cochrane AB we can expect to see this team continue to grow. Excellent effort Glenda and Dave!     Platinum Award Judy Schueller  Judy's team with John and Dan are taking over the market north of Edmonton. With a consistent marketing effort and a commitment to quality Judy is making it easy for her partners to choose A Buyers Choice Home Inspections. NIce work Judy!       Gold Award Colin Dvorak  With less than $200.00 from Platinum Colin had one of his biggest months ever in April. Making the extra effort to join in the local Chamber events is paying off for Colin in Stony Plain/Spruce Grove. Keep up the good work Colin!           SilverAward   Mark Mitchell Mark started 2014 with a goal to substantially increase his franchise. Mark went back to the basics with open houses, realtor visits and working his tellem campaigns just as he was taught in boot camp. Mark is starting to realize his goal while mentoring some new folks and helping to build the Midwest team. Awesome start to 2014 Mark!     Silver Award Troy Trudgeon Consistency is part of Troy's brand. Even struggling a bit with a repaired limb Troy powered through to continue to provide his customers excellent service. Troy's community involvement along with his participation in his BNI group support his business well. Great effort Troy!     Bronze Award Kory Kohuch & Jennifer Colwell Things are starting to heat up in Saskatchewan after a long cold spring.  This team was instrumental in assisting to bring on a partner to the north that we will be seeing shortly in the top awards with this teams mentorship.   Great Teamwork!     Bronze Award  Ken and Christian Kalk After a long thaw in Manitoba this team is starting to heat it up. April was the start of a rush that seems to be gaining momentum in May. Expect to see this team climbing the charts in the coming months. Good work Guys!       Bronze Award   Alan and Chris Morhun We have some new comers to the   Midwest top awards and you can expect to see much more of this team. April was their first full month and they hit the top awards. With Jeremy and Reuben as their mentors this team is bound for success. One of the most impresstive attributes to this team is how they follow the plan. They came out of bootcamp and worked the marketing plan that they learned to the letter and proved that if you do the activity the results will follow Impressive first month guys!!

 

---

Martin Fiesel
Regional Master Franchise Owner

A Buyers Choice Home Inspections
49 Brander Ave
Langdon, AB, T0J1X2
Canada

1 800 929 0189
1 587 899 3800
1 800 929 0189

Email Me
Website

 

For more information or have clients interested in a Home Inspection, please call me at 1 800 929 0189.

 

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What is a "Safe & Sanitary" and how does this compare to a Certificate of Acceptance?

What is a "Safe & Sanitary" and how does this compare to a Certificate of Acceptance?

The term "Safe and Sanitary" came into existence after the first Building Act was introduced in 1992. There were specific sections in that act which made it clear that:

1.     All building work required a building consent (there were exceptions, but they were very seldom relevant to domestic housing)

2.     A building consent cannot be issued retrospectively.

3.     Territorial Authorities (Councils) could declare buildings unsafe or insanitary, regardless of when they were built. This therefore applied to buildings or work built prior to July 1992 with or without what was then known as a building permit.

Many members of the public who owned buildings which had work done (including the construction of the complete building) without a building permit or building consent believed that they could get such "illegal" or "unauthorised" works legitimized by obtaining a "Safe and Sanitary Report". This is simply not true.

However, councils do have discretion whether to allow such unpermitted or unconsented building work to remain in place. Their main consideration was and still is, Is the work dangerous or insanitary?

In essence, "dangerous" means likely in the ordinary course of events to cause injury or death to any persons or damage to other property; or would give rise to almost certain loss of life in a fire (again, in essence).

"Insanitary" means situated or constructed or in such disrepair as to be offensive or likely to be injurious to health; subject to undue dampness or without adequate potable water or sanitary facilities (for the intended use).

Councils don't like illegal work and will not preclude the possibility of taking steps at some stage, but they will accept a report from a suitably experienced person, (usually an NZIBS member) and issue in reply a "letter of comfort", which has come to be called a "Safe and Sanitary Certificate", despite the fact that it is not a "certificate" at all (it is usually just a letter), is limited to the time of issue, is non-statutory (doesn't appear in any law) and is not a consent or guarantee.

What this means is that if the illegal work is not dangerous or insanitary, the council has better things to do than make you tear it down and rebuild, but they do retain the right to take further action at some stage in the future should they decide it has become necessary because the work has become dangerous or insanitary.

 

Should Employees Use Social Media at Work?

An interesting article:

May 21, 2014

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I get it... You're completely convinced that allowing your employees to get on Facebook and Twitter would pull the rug out from under your bottom line. Because of that, you block chat, tweets, and all other social networking to make sure your workers are doing only what you pay them for. I am here, however, to suggest that there can be a backlash from that approach. Social networking can actually help you in the long run, and I want to try to open your eyes to this fact. In the end, of course, it's your business and your call. But let's see if you can be swayed.

1. Morale

Back in the '90s, people wanted to be hired by companies that were cool to work for. And when the employees actually enjoyed working for a company, they did their best work. Morale is a huge aspect of the business world, but few owners and managers seem to get it. Low morale among the workers breeds contempt, and contempt breeds disloyalty. Disloyalty, as you know, breeds attrition.

2. Reputation

Your reputation is everything in business. And in this day of instant gratification and notification, finding yourself with a reputation going down the drain is little more than a disgruntled employee away. That does not mean you must cater to every whim and folly of your employees. But giving them tiny crumbs (like social media access) will go a long way toward keeping your reputation healthy.

3. Communication

Communication -- whether it's internal or external -- is key to business success. One of the fastest means of communication today is social networking. In fact, it's just about the most immediate form of communication you can find. Your employees may be communicating with the outside world, but many of those people on the outside are consumers and possible clients.

4. Advertising

Dare I say "free advertising"? I dare and I do. Social networking brings to businesses a boon of free advertising. You can't afford not to hop onto this bandwagon. And getting on board early shows the public that you are an agile, aware company. Allowing your employees to take advantage of social networking also shows you care about them. In this society, caring goes a long way. All of that makes for some seriously powerful advertising.

5. Collaboration

Social networking facilitates collaboration internally, but it also lets users collaborate with the entire world. I have done this countless times. When I've been stuck on an idea, I call out to my followers on Twitter or Facebook to get a deluge of answers. It's free and it's fast.

6. Social Research

You need your finger on the pulse of society. You can get this with your employees on social networking sites. In fact, you'll have instant access to the court of public opinion even as it evolves in front of you. This is another (free) way to expand your company's reach.

7. Skill Building

Your company and its employees need to know how to use social networking effectively. Why? Because our society is on a collision course with an even further embedding of social media into our lives. You want your company and your employees at the forefront of that trend. At some point, your employees may have to use social networking to market and sell your product. Allowing them to use it on a daily basis now will ensure that they're social media savvy, without the need for training.

8. Transparency

The world wants transparency. We've seen it from every level of business and government. Allowing your employees to participate in social networking illustrates to your employees' social circle that you mean business when it comes to employee retention and happiness. Today's consumers and society eat that up. But if they see a company deliberately squelching the employee voice and hiding behind the walls of security and information blocking, there will be a backlash. Transparency can go a long way toward boosting customer loyalty as well as your customers' faith in you as a business within the community.

9. PR

Blocking social media may unleash PR problems. The effects of blocking social media will trickle down to the public -- quickly. And although you might not think so, this can quickly snowball into a PR nightmare, especially as more and more young employees -- who depend upon social networking -- join the workforce.

10. Networking

You want your company to network. You want your employees to network. You want your employees to know what other companies are doing and to be in touch with the heartbeat of your market. What better way to accomplish this than with social networking? Yes, they can network with email, but not on as grand a scale.

For most managers and executives, the bottom line will yank the rug out from under these reasons. But times are changing and it's certainly best to keep up rather than scramble to bridge gaps and fill holes. I would highly recommend allowing social networking in your company -- even if only experimentally. See how it affects performance and morale and then decide whether it's a perk worth keeping.

Duane Turner
Office: 09 811 8018
Mobile: 027 376 4806

duane.turner@abuyerschoice.com
www.waitakere.abuyerschoice.com

Waitakere & Surrounding Areas

 

Congratulations Top Award Winners in Ontario for April 2014

Introducing the Ontario Top Award winners for April 2014     PLATINUM AWARD Pedro Giorgana Franchise Owner Whitby-Oshawa Outstanding job this month Pedro, congratulations on your success. All your marketing efforts and hard work are getting you great results pedro.giorgana@abuyerschoice.com                GOLD AWARD Rob Ranieri Franchise Owner Pickering-Georgina Another incredible month for you Rob, well done! You are following the plan and your contact base continues to grow every month. rob.ranieri@abuyerschoice.com                          GOLD AWARD Anthony Foti Franchise Owner Vaughan North - Caledon Another successful month for you Anthony, well done. You contiune to be a Gold + award winner every single month. anthony.foti@abuyerschoice.com                   SILVER AWARD Jeff Maves Franchise Owner Pembroke - Arnprior Another fantastic month for you Jeff as you continue to be the # 1 inspector in the Pembroke / Arnpior area month after month. jeff.maves@abuyerschoice.com             SILVER AWARD Ritchie Bisnauth Franchise Owner Aurora-Nemarket Congratulations Ritchie another outstanding month for you as you continue to have an incredible 2014. ritchie.bisnauth@abuyerschoice.com                    SILVER AWARD  John Brook Franchise Owner Brampton North Another great month for you John, you are very quickly becoming the # 1 inspector of choice in your area. john.brook@abuyerschoice.com          SILVER AWARD T.J. Manoharan Franchise Owner Scarborough North Congratulations TJ on another outstandng month!! You are off to an incredible start to 2014 and you are building an incredible customer base in the Scarborough area. tj.manoharan@abuyerschoice.com                            SILVER AWARD  Bill Desloges Franchise Owner Timmins and surrounding area Fantastic job again this month Bill, and you are off and running again this year in Northern Ontario.  bill.desloges@abuyerschoice.com              BRONZE + AWARD Ken Jackett Franchise Owner Belleville -Trenton-Picton area Awesome month for you Ken, almost Silver but we expect you'll be cruising at Gold and beyond every month very soon. ken.jackett@abuyerschoice.com               BRONZE + AWARD  Panos Loucaides Franchise Owner Vaughan South Congratulations on another outstanding month Panos, almost Silver but many more great months ahead as you build your customer base in Woodbridge and South Vaughan. panos.loucaides@abuyerschoice.com                    BRONZE AWARD Gene Wright Franchise Owner Barrie - Bradford  Another great month for you Gene, you are really getting things going in your new areas. Congratulations and contined success. gene.wright@abuyerschoice.com            BRONZE AWARD Dean Slaney Franchise Owner Cornwall Another great month for you Dean. Outstanding job networking with all the realtors in your area. dean.slaney@abuyerschoice.com               BRONZE AWARD Lawrence Thibault Franchise Owner Ottawa West Another fantastic month for you Lawrence, all you marketing efforts and following the ABCHI system are getting you great results. lawrence.thibault@abuyerschoice.com                       BRONZE AWARD     Brian Harley Franchise Owner Stouffville-Markham Outstanding job again this month Brian. Contiuned success throughout the spring and summer as you grow the ABCHI business in your area brian.harley@abuyerschoice.com      BRONZE AWARD Kevin Carey Franchise Owner Peterborough Another great month for you Kevin, your constant marketing to realtors and clients continues to attract lots of new business to your ABCHI business. kevin.carey@abuyerschoice.com     BRONZE AWARD Dave Comrie Franchise Owner Burlington Congratulations on another outstanding month Dave. You are a great example of how following the ABCHI sytem gets results month after month.  dave.comrie@abuyerschoice.com            Congratulations again to these TOP AWARD winners for April 2014 and to the entire Ontario TEAM for a great year to date !! Mike Smith Regional Director Ontario www.ontario.abuyerschoice.com

 

Largest Commercial Building Inspection in The HIstory of A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections

May 14, 2014

Hello everyone,
Our BC Team has had a major success on the largest commercial inspection in the history of A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections! A three man team of Randy Squires and Ron Lyons, lead by Aaron Borsch, inspected a 75 suite Holiday Inn for a commercial client this past month. 




The inspection was more complicated than normal because we had to manage a number of sub-contractors to ensure that all systems were inspected for the remote client. The inspection included:
- City of Surrey - Fire, Safety & Accessibility
- Elevator Contractor
- Mechanical Contractor for Industrial Boilers and Chillers
- Swimming Pool Contractor
- Restaurant Inspection
- Industrial Laundry Inspection
- Thermal Imaging of suites and offices. 

The work was done over a 3 day period. Consequently a fair degree of planning was necessary to manage the sub-contractors and coordinate the timing of the inspection activities to ensure there was very little disruption for the hotel guests and employees while in full operation.
   

 COORDINATING ACTIVITIES IN THE SITUATION ROOM

Ron Lyons brought his expertise as a journeyman electrician, so he handled the inspection of more than 16 electrical panels and a complicated metering system.



OVERVIEW OF THE SWITCHGEAR ROOM
 
Randy Squires conducted the inspection of the guest suites, building exterior and restaurant. As team leader, Aaron managed the inspection of the common areas, offices, laundry and sub-contractors. The project was completed on-time, on-budget and caused a minimum amount of interference with the ongoing operation of the hotel.

The client was also very happy with the amount of detail and thoroughness of the 166 page inspection report.
Congratulations to this team of professional inspectors on a job well done!!

Best regards,

Kim & Dave Williams
BC Regional Owners

A Buyer's Choice BC
2559 Shaughnessy Street
Port Coquitlam, BC, V3C 3G3
Canada

778 996-0369

604 608-3852

Email Me
My Website

 

FW: ABCHI Top Award Winners New Zealand April 2014

 

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Sarah Turner   Operations Manager  New Zealand 022 043 1226 A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections  New Zealand (National House Inspection Company Ltd)       0800 86 36 36  09 834 7936     info@abuyerschoice.co.nz  www.abuyerschoice.co.nz              Franchises Available Worldwide  Contact: 1-877-377-8628 info@abuyerschoice.com www.abuyerschoice.com	Congratulations Top Award Winners!   SILVER AWARD Rob Beagle Te Atatu & Surrounding Areas    Fantastic effort Rob, its great to see a Silver award two months in a row. We can only imagine what you have in store for the end of this month!! Lets hope you continue to shine.    BRONZE AWARD Gerard Naude Albany & Surrounding Areas   Congratulations Gerard, you continue to live up to our expectations. Keep up the hard work and we hope to see you back on the awards charts again this month.  Buying a Property? You'll want to ensure your investment is sound by executing a thorough, professional home inspection. Selling a Home? Instill greater buyer confidence by having an approved home inspection report in hand. A Buyer's Choice Home Inspection provides a complete range of home inspection services to help you buy and sell with complete confidence. Please call today to find out more!
	For more information or have clients interested in a Home Inspection, please call us at 0800 86 36 36. A Buyer's Choice Home Inspections, May 2014

 

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Sarah Turner
Office: 09 811 8018
Mobile: 022 043 1226

sarah.turner@abuyerschoice.co.nz
www.waitakere.abuyerschoice.com

Waitakere & Surrounding Areas