Dec
11
Written by:
bkennedy
12/11/2008 3:33 PM
Let’s face it, for most homebuilders we are in a real estate depression. With almost 100% of Builders reporting historic lows for sales and traffic, it’s easy to get discouraged. This combined with a plethora of negative news one could easily succumb to a mindset that nothing is selling so why bother. For most builders this mindset is crippling, for others it’s providing an opportunity to grow market share. For these builders its like surviving in shark infested waters, survival simply means swimming faster than the others. Excellent examples of this positive approach is The Villages Located in central Florida and Southern Crafted Homes located in Tampa Florida.
The Villages despite an almost 50% reduction in sales velocity from its peak is currently selling approximately 250 to 300 hundred units a month with the majority of sales coming from new homes sales. Having conducted extensive market studies and Mystery shopping for the Villages, I have never been more impressed with an organization. The Village’s team is all about positioning and feedback. They are keenly aware of everything that is selling in their market and position accordingly. Unlike the competition, they avoid reacting to the market by deep discounting in order to purge inventory. Instead they concentrate on a better sales presentation that communicates the value of intangibles that transcend pure price.
Southern Crafted homes based in Land O' Lakes, Florida despite being a market that is down 28% from last year is the number one fastest growing private homebuilders in Florida, as ranked by Inc. Magazine. How do they do it? Like The Villages, they too position ahead of the market. They also concentrate on exceptional sales presentations. They are also extremely progressive in driving traffic to their sales centers with creative low cost web marketing.
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