How bad were new home sales in 2011? Depends on where you look.

Nationally, new-home sales hit a record low in 2011, which was capped by a brutal December. According to Builder,

“New-home sales registered the worst year on record in 2011, with data going back to 1963, according to information released [yesterday] by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. An estimated 302,000 new homes were sold during the year, a 6.2% drop from 2010.”

But locally, several markets showed significant increases in median prices and, according to Realtor.com, median list prices increased nationwide at an average of five percent from Dec. 2010 to Dec. 2011. Look at the top 10 and you’ll see several hot spots — many of them in Florida:

1. Miami, Fla.
Year-over-year increase: 32.50%
Median list price: $265,000

2. Naples, Fla.
Year-over-year increase: 21.67%
Median list price: $365,000

3. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla.
Year-over-year increase: 21.47%
Median list price: $229,375

4. Punta Gorda, Fla.
Year-over-year increase: 19.42%
Median list price: $179,000

5. Boise City, Idaho
Year-over-year increase: 19.25%
Median list price: $154,900

6. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.
Year-over-year increase: 18.38%
Median list price: $219,000

7. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
Year-over-year increase: 17.62%
Median list price: $241,000

8. Daytona Beach, Fla.
Year-over-year increase: 16.06%
Median list price: $179,900

9. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.
Year-over-year increase: 13.79%
Median list price: $165,000

10. Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Mich.
Year-over-year increase: 13.32%
Median list price: $137,000

Curious what the media home prices are doing in your area? Check out this list of 143 metro areas on Realtor.com.

Stacey Freed

In December, Stacey Freed of Remodeling Magazine profiled four remodeling companies of different sizes and strategies to identify how some are navigating the murky marketplace. Freed participated in a live chat Tuesday at the Integrity Facebook page to share findings about what the best remodeling companies are doing not only to survive, but thrive.

When you look at the four successful remodeling companies profiled in your piece, as well as other remodelers you’ve recently interviewed, what seems to be the special sauce? What are successful remodelers doing to make themselves better?
Freed: One thing I learned from my interviews was the importance of marketing. The companies we featured all had either increased their marketing during the downturn and/or better focused it.

There’s no real “special sauce,” per se, but successful remodelers said “No” to the recession. They just didn’t give up. They may have had to lay off employees, move back into their home office, return to working in the field, or canvas neighborhoods house by house but they maintained a positive attitude — and kept getting their name out there.

Take Anthony Slabaugh, who was featured. He determined where his real target market is and stopped advertising/marketing to a broader audience. He reached out to his specific target market. Ken Spears Construction knows that KSC sports fans are their bread and butter. They advertise on the JumboTron during games and sponsor a “Coach’s Corner” TV show.

Anthony Slabaugh Remodeling & Design, the smallest business you profiled at $500,000 in volume, has invested in smartphones for its employees with iPads supposedly on the way. It seems an odd time to invest in personal technology, but what’s the payoff for a remodeling business?
Again, Slabaugh refuses to back down. He’s moving forward and knows that the personal technology for employees will help them better interact and service clients.

Slabaugh also mentioned his company had “re-focused” marketing efforts in the past year, focusing advertisement on a single upscale town instead of 10 surrounding cities. It seems counterintuitive to traditional marketing strategy. Why should remodelers consider focusing their efforts to smaller audiences?
You really want to market to your “ideal” client. If you’re sending a postcard to everyone in your state it becomes hit or miss. You need clients who are a good fit who will buy from you. How do you determine a good fit? Go back and look at all your successful jobs. Find out what the clients had in common. All doctors? All teachers? Many live in the same housing development? High or middle income levels? Figure out who you work best with and focus advertising/marketing dollars on them.

Another company you mentioned, Ken Spears Construction (KSC), claimed it earned six jobs valued at $200,000 in work simply by sending letters, knocking on doors and leaving door hangers – a very traditional marketing approach by today’s standards. What can remodelers learn from KSC’s humble approach?
People want connections. KSC returned to neighborhoods where they were working or had worked and introduced themselves to people. If you have a chance to get in front of a homeowner and introduce yourself and your company, it’s a great soft sell. No pressure to buy. Just let them know you exist. Maybe point out some of the projects you’ve done in their neighborhood. Leave your contact information. Ask if you might have their email address.

In your article, Kathy Spears, treasurer at KSC, said her firm is “hunkering down for a long siege.” KSC chose to boost its marketing budget from 2 percent to 5 percent – a considerable hike. With fewer jobs out there, would you encourage remodelers invest more in marketing or spend smarter?
You’ve got to do both — invest in marketing AND spend smarter. I think that’s what the four featured companies are doing. Again, marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. Kyle Hunt, a marketing consultant, has a blog post today telling people about a video he saw on Pinterest that shows a remodeler giving an outdoor faucet protector to clients — it will help keep pipes from freezing. It costs about $2, takes half a minute to install, and it gets you in front of people who know, like, and trust you but who may have put you on the back burner.

Green Building Megatrends for 2012
BUILDER
“Yudelson unveiled a list of 10 other green megatrends destined for growth in 2012, both in the U.S. and abroad. And while, like the rest of the home building industry, green building will certainly face headwinds in coming days—such as squeezed budgets among families and governments—the market is poised for growth, he says. ‘You make money if you go green. If you don’t go green, you’re at a marketplace disadvantage.’”

Builder Confidence on Rise in January
For Residential Pros
“The National Association of Home Builders is reporting that builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family continued to climb for a fourth consecutive month in January, rising four points to 25 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released Wednesday, January 18. This is the highest level the index has attained since June of 2007.”

The Lean Designer: The best way to prepare for a plan review
Housing Zone
“As many of you know by now Professional Builder is holding three days of plan reviews by some of the top designers and architects in the country during the International Builders Show. I am honored to be part of that group and very much look forward to the event. Here are some juicy insider tips to help you take advantage of the opportunity…”

Seven Steps to Choosing the Perfect Circular Saw
Fine Homebuilding
“We recently reviewed 14 sidewinder circular saws and found seven features that separate the good from the not-so-good. Let’s take a closer look.”

This week, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) delivered another good news/bad news combo platter.

The good news: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which measures U.S. home builder sentiment, rose to a score of 25 — the fourth consecutive month of improvement and the highest score since June 2007.

The not-so-good news: A score of 25 still indicates a generally poor sentiment and its down from the 50 score of April 2006 — the last time the index was considered generally favorable.

“Builders are seeing greater interest among potential buyers as employment and consumer confidence slowly improve in a growing number of markets,” David Crowe, chief economist at NAHB, said in a statement. “And this has helped to move the confidence gauge up from near-historic lows in the first half of 2011.”

“”That said, caution remains the word of the day as many builders continue to voice concerns about potential clients being unable to qualify for an affordable mortgage, appraisals coming through below construction cost, and the continuing flow of foreclosed properties hitting the market.”

To view charts and tables from January’s index – including results by region – go here.

If you had to score sentiment (1-100) in your area, what number would you choose? How does that compare to recent months?

Does your marketing strategy include social media?

According to a study from Professional Remodeler, remodelers who have ventured into Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other popular social networks have seen a positive impact on business. In fact, social media was identified as one of the most effective avenues for marketing.

Jonathan Sweet, editor-in-chief at Professional Remodeler, writes,

“Of those remodelers that do use social media, most estimate it is delivering only a small (but growing) portion of their business. Eighteen percent say none of their business comes from clients they reached through social media, but that’s down from 33 percent in our last survey. Seventeen percent of remodelers are getting more than 10 percent of their work from clients they’ve reached through social media, up from 4 percent last year.”

There’s still plenty of skeptics out there, though. In the study, several remodelers indicated doubt that social media reaches their target consumer and the time investment for upkeep exceeds the expected return.

Cynics aside, the study gives reason to believe an increasing number of remodelers, specifically, and home builders, in general, will include social media in their future marketing plans:

• 62 percent of remodelers have a Facebook fan page, up from 35 percent last year.
• 36 percent have a company Twitter account, up from 19 percent.
• 35 percent of remodelers have a company blog, up from 20 percent.

Remodelers also spoke highly of traditional websites, with a whopping 87 percent indicating they were at least somewhat effective.

Is social media a part of your marketing strategy? Why or why not?

Here’s an interesting story: a company is hoping to be build a new town in New Mexico. Only thing is, you can’t live there. It’s a ghost town.

The town (currently called the Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation) will have all the amenities that a real city would have, including houses and businesses. Everything would be fully functional with utilities. It would even have a mall (not filled with merchandise presumably)!

So why on earth is this town being built? For research of course! Pegasus Global Holdings will use the town to test energy efficient and green home innovations. MSN Real Estate gives an example of what might take place there:

If it all sounds too crazy, here’s a down-to-earth example: Say scientists want to see if a new kind of smart thermostat can make an entire neighborhood more energy-efficient. They could hand out the thermostats to homeowners in Albuquerque and check in on their meters for the next year. But the results would depend on a lot of factors out of the researchers’ control, such as how warm or cool individuals like their rooms to be or the houses’ insulation quality. And if the experimental system doesn’t work, the scientists would have disrupted people’s lives and maybe increased their utility bills.

But nobody would live in the center’s buildings. Computerized systems would mimic human behavior such as turning thermostats up and down, switching lights off and on or flushing toilets, but they would do so under the scientists’ control. A research team could install the thermostats in a block of the center’s two-story suburban houses, then run multiple long-term scenarios, manipulating the imaginary residents’ behavior to see what the energy use is under different circumstances.

Oh, and since there will be researchers and scientists there to run things in the imaginary city, they’ll be staying in facilities underground.

Although building an entire city that no one lives in might seem odd, having this sort of research space might lead to all sorts of discoveries with energy efficiency in the home. What do you think?

Image courtesy of pascalbovet.com on Flickr.

The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas wraps up today after a frenzied week of new product releases, technology presentations and swirling rumors.

Last year, smart home technology was all the rage at CES as companies like LG, Kenmore and Panasonic introduced appliances that work harmoniously within a connected ecosystem. Smart home tech promises improved performance and energy efficiency as homeowners can control functionality through mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of futuristic movies venturing to guess what the home of the future looks like. It appears smart home tech is it. If you’ve got 15 minutes this weekend, just watch this LG presentation from CES to get a sense of what’s possible from smart home tech.

Hopefully, it won’t be long before these technologies go mainstream.

Last year, we were thrilled to release the Integrity Windows – Built to Perform App for the iPad and iPhone. Our goal was to provide builders, architects and designers with an easy-to-use mobile platform that offers crucial product information and details, because we recognize the importance of convenience on the job site.

The Integrity app includes instant reference materials like product catalogs, brochures, presentations, case studies, videos and a feed of posts from this very blog, as well as an extensive photo gallery you can explore for inspiration.

A growing number of building professionals have found mobile devices can be an important tool in everyday business. Scott Sevon, a partner at MAW Chicago, was recently featured in a video on HousingZone.com demonstrating how he’s integrated the iPad into his practice:

Have you purchased a smartphone or tablet for work purposes? If so, how are you using it? If not, what’s holding you back?

As we swing in to 2012, let’s take a look back at 2011 and the year’s top builder Blog posts. Here’s what you liked best. Enjoy!

1. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/integrity-windows-built-to-perform-on-the-ipad-and-iphone
2. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/buildchat-residential-designer-and-blogger-kelly-morrisseau-on-the-key-to-an-effective-designer-contractor-relationship
3. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/case-study-leed-silver-certified-home-in-oregon
4. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/watch-our-dna-video-series-and-well-send-a-free-t-shirt
5. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/marketing-your-remodeling-business-qa-with-david-west-of-meadowview-construction
6. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/qa-with-green-builder-matt-risinger-of-risinger-homes
7. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/greenwich-water-club-case-study
8. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/extreme-home-makoever-in-etters-pa-uses-integrity-windows
9. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/buildchat-discussing-green-building-with-green-curmudgeon-carl-seville
10. http://builderblog.integritywindows.com/a-very-small-kitchen

The successful builder understands adding new elements to home designs over time is about more than evolving or shaking boredom. Year after year, new products, whether major appliances, smaller accessories or building materials, enhance livability and re-shape the way owners interact with their home.

Per tradition, Nigel F. Maynard at Builder Magazine has created a list of 10 products builders should add to their homes in 2012. Maynard writes, “Our list this year has no particular theme, except to help you and your buyers consider some new ideas. It includes products that are merely about aesthetics and design, some that are practical, and some that will help improve the energy efficiency of your homes.”

I encourage you to view Builder’s list for yourself, but here’s some of the highlights:

Energy Monitor
Within five years, these may become a standard feature in most homes. While monitors won’t magically improve a home’s energy efficiency, Maynard writes, “The idea is that if people know exactly how much energy they are consuming, they are more likely to change their habits and reduce consumption.”

Blow-in Insulation
With so much emphasis on improving insulation, blow-in insulation not only trumps roll form in terms of performance – it’s much easier to use, as well. “Blown-in insulation, on the other hand, gives you a better fit, better coverage, and a better seal—and is hard to install incorrectly,” Maynard writes. “It also can be installed more effectively around junction boxes and wires.”

Insulated Vinyl Siding
Vinyl siding usually gets picked for its durability, but with new insulation options, vinyl siding can bolstered as the first line of defense against the elements. Maynard writes, “Not only do you get an air and moisture infiltration barrier, but you also get a thermal break that stops heat transmission. Moreover, boards can be installed straighter, so walls look better.”

[Photo Credit: Courtesy Johns Mansville]