The BrightBlog. » Trends

10 Best Places for Second Homes

Deven Spear — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:36:39 +0000

Prices of luxury real estate are finally starting to rise, as bargain hunters swoop in. Some of the best deals are in second homes with prices off as much as 40%. Here the top 10 list from Barrons on March 8th:

Maui
Kiawah Island, S.C.
The Hamptons
Park City, Utah
Aspen, Colo.
Pebble Beach, Calif.
Palm Beach
Captiva/Sanibel Island, Fla
Asheville, N.C.
Gasparilla Island, Fla.

See Barrons article here: http://online.barrons.com/article/SB126783139173756813.html

The New Consumer – Resorts and Leisure

Deven Spear — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:24:15 +0000

ULI panelist: Peter Rummell, Diana Permar, Michael Shannon and Dr. Jim Taylor

Heres the main highlights from todays ULI Resorts and Leisure session:

Disproportionate impact on the wealthy
Buyers have adopted new due diligence in all shopping categories
Focus on needs not wants
Can live without 5 star stuff
Price, Price, Price
Buyers mindset from 06-07 will never return – Sales need to talk more about “values”
Prospects know everything about the developer and community
All about total cost of ownership
Have to learn what the customer really wants

Market Observations – Q2 2009

Deven Spear — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:54:10 +0000

As part of our continued effort to better understand the real estate environment and share knowledge during these challenging times, we asked a group of trusted advisors, industry leaders and overall smart real estate folks to share their observations about what’s happening in the marketplace.

There are some notable changes from Q1:

Lack of management experience is a big factor – lots of confusion about what to do next.
Increased pursuit of any and all types of “efficiencies”. How can I cut cost and still do more.
Continued financing hurdles for those that want to buy – especially on home sites.
Buyers perception is that you can get 25% – 40% off at present. They all want foreclosures or short sales….then it’s tough to get them financed.
Pre-development communities are stagnant or dead.
New development ownership and private capital on the rise.
Interested prospects want completed communities – show me the clubhouse, let me play the golf course, what time is dinner?
We are using the web and social networking much more. Must be targeted rather than mass media.
Most prospects are jumpy and just won’t spend cash or go further in debt.
On site agents have to relearn the art of selling.
Follow-up is the key! Must be more frequent and more creative.
Sales consultants have to be just that — consulting on financing, timing, market competition and they better be well versed in the competition too.
A strong, trusted brand even more relevant than ever before.
Developers lacking a positive and strong track record are dead in the water in this environment. People will not trust un-proven developers.
Still watching for signs of positive consumer confidence – starting to see some now!

Add your feedback below….

Content is king. Take control.

Michael Worthington — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:58:20 +0000

As developers and builders consider their sales and marketing options with the recovery underway, there are many factors in play. Do you invest in new branding inititives with a marketing agency? What’s the right social marketing strategy? How can I effectively use my public website to generate qualified leads? Is print dead?

All good questions. But consider this. If persistance pays off, how do I manage my marketing and sales efforts over the long term? Agencies are invaluable at establishing your brand and developing a plan for targeting your ideal prospects. Most of them understand that an integrated marketing approach (mostly weighted around online) is the best, most cost-effective approach.

Today, unified software systems like BrightBase give you the power and flexibility to take control of the on-going content management process. This now extends to your public website (inventory, site maps, surveys, registration) as well as other sales force automation tools such as information kiosks and sales center presentation. No one expects the “good old days” of 2006 to return anytime soon. As developers consider how to get back in the game, those with a persistant approach are best positioned for long term success. They’ll need technology that gives them full control of their online presence.

Why not read some Good News!

Deven Spear — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:26:46 +0000

I have to admit… I can sometimes join the crowd of pessimistic naysayers that revel in how bad the economy is today and how hopeless it looks for the future. Unfortunately, that attitude causes us to completely overlook the blooming buds of optimism that appear during the Spring of Recession.

Here’s just a few of them from the past week (click on any for the full article)!

Like Kasey Casem said; “keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars” (no idea why that popped in my head).

iPhone now accounts for 50 percent of mobile Web traffic

Deven Spear — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:04:20 +0000

As we have predicted for months, there’s a new array of mobile applications streaming into the marketplace and many can be modified for real estate buyers.

Looks like Apple will have an advantage! (and I use a Blackberry Bold).

The iPhone now accounts for 50 percent of mobile Web traffic from smartphones in the U.S., according to an AdMob Mobile Metrics report released this morning. Over the past six months, the iPhone has taken share from Blackberry and Windows Mobile. In August 2008, the iPhone made up only 10 percent of mobile Web traffic from smartphones. During the same time, Blackberry’s share has gone from 32 percent to 21 percent (with the Curve and the Pearl coming in stronger than the Storm), while Windows Mobile has taken an even bigger hit, declining from 30 percent to 13 percent. Palm is also down to 7 percent from 19 percent six months ago.

Market Observations – March’09

Deven Spear — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:40:28 +0000

Every month I update our Venture Capital partners with a “pulse” of what we hear happening in the real estate development community. I thought it would be fun to post these findings on the Blog for discussion. Nothing scientific – just honest feedback from a smart group of insiders.

Increasing anxiety about prolonged economic turmoil (domestic and global)
With staff reductions, new spending hard to justify
Increased pursuit of any and all types of “efficiencies”
Financing hurdles for those that do want to buy
Growing operational limitations imposed by lenders and owner/investors
Near abandonment of print advertising, collateral and media
Chapter 7 vs. chapter 11
Interested prospects want completed communities (no renderings)
Recognizing need for exceptional service and experience for every single on-site prospect
Retail buyers are looking for foreclosures, short sales or a “steal”
Leadership is learning to sell because all sales people have quit or been fired
Watching for signs of positive consumer confidence
Progressively more dependent on web-based databases and lead generating tools
Interested prospects have low levels of interest in home sites
Research is leading to a fractional explosion over the next 5 years
Flush developers and lenders (and there are many) have the opportunity/opportunities of a lifetime
Best location, best product and best price still wins!

Special thanks to these folks for their contribution this month: Linton West, Jason Weaver, Harry Redfearn, Terry Tolbert, Ranie Good, Chris Hill, Jami Mullikin, Terry Weaver, Gary Harmon, Judith She’, David Pisano, Mike Notartomaso, Burt Baine, Johnny Ussery

Sound off! What’s your plan for 2009?

Michael Worthington — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:00:22 +0000

BrightDoor recently conducted a brief industry profile of colleagues and customers, polling them on topics such as the most effective lead generation initiatives, the best inbound lead sources, and greatest organizational challenges. In many cases, we weren’t surprised by the feedback. However, there were some trends that we wouldn’t have anticipated. Our 2009 Online Market Survey Report will be generally available on Brightdoor.com very soon.

As our friend Terry Weaver likes to say, “If none of us hold back…All of us can move forward.” In the spirit of that notion, we’d like for you to sound off on any of these real estate sales & marketing topics:

What source of inbound leads are most effective today?
What lead generation efforts are you investing in this year?
What ineffective sales and marketing programs are you eliminating?
How are you keeping your sales team(s) engaged and motivated?
What are you doing to ensure future success?

Join the conversation. Click the “Comments” link below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

ACES 2009 – Preparing for the recovery

Michael Worthington — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:42:45 +0000

Terry Weaver’s 14th annual Amenity Community Excellence in Selling (ACES) Conference is officially underway at the Marriott Resort in Hilton Head, S.C. Although the economy has affected attendance (no surprise there), the overall mood of the event is positive. ACES attendees are traditionally focused on knowledge sharing and networking – never has this been more relevant than today. The event goes through tomorrow (Feb 4th).

Session topics today include persuasive communication tips, the power of positive leadership and Deven’s upcoming panel discussion on leveraging technology to improve marketing and sales productivity. Tomorrow’s sessions include influence strategies for a tough market, a strategic system for sales success and Terry’s final general session on success in 2009. BrightDoor is pleased to continue our participation with Marketing & Sales Institute (MSI) and this vital industry event.

Interactive CRM gets real (estate)

Michael Worthington — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:33:37 +0000

While Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a fairly generic concept of information capture for customer service, every industry implements it in a way tailored to their unique needs. However, commercial and residential real estate hasn’t unlocked the code on leveraging CRM in a way that provides buyers and sellers a common platform for exchanging sales information and building relationships while simultaneously capturing all interaction for business intelligence. This is a bold, new concept – a fusion of digital marketing, sales force automation (SFA) and CRM. BrightDoor has unlocked this code (no pun intended) just at the right time – when the industry is clamoring for cost-effective ways to attract buyers. We’ve coined our novel approach “Interactive CRM” or iCRM.

With iCRM, you can unify your sales and marketing under a common platform. Launch email marketing campaigns. Entice web visitors to register through interactive site plan exploration. Schedule community tours. Provide online follow-up through personal web portals. Track and manage the complete customer experience. All from a single Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. What makes BrightDoor’s iCRM more compelling than ever? The answer is as close as your newspaper or TV.

With the global market in crisis mode, change is undeniable. Real estate buyers will be forever transformed – using the internet as THE key method of analysis and decision-making. They’ll be scrutinizing every purchase. Why would real estate be any different? It won’t be. As a builder or developer, it is imperative that they embrace the change and seek out new tools to restore their ability to effectively market and sell their communities.

We believe BrightDoor iCRM provides a compelling and cost effective way from which to rebuild your sales and marketing approach. I encourage you to learn more at Brightdoor.com and start a conversation with us.