With the latter measure of the nation's economic health dropping more than at any time since January 1997. Right about now, common sense should be telling you that now is the time for you to take control of the business end of business, set your self up to be ahead of the game when housing stats start to equal out. AND THEY WILL... BUT DON'T COUNT ON IT ANY TIME SOON...
The monthly report on new residential construction issued by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed permits for privately-owned building permits for residential construction being issued at a rate drop of 2.8 percent below the revised June rate of 22.6 percent below the revised estimate in July one year ago.
Builders were holding around 194,000 permits on which construction had not yet begun in July compared to 206,900 in June. A staggering 103,800 of those permits were in the Southern states as were nearly 50 percent of the 117,500 unused permits for single family construction.
So why are you just sitting there watching your money fly out the window???
Not surprisingly, builder confidence is also eroding. The latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) took another hit in August, reaching its lowest level in over16 years.
The HMI asks builders to respond to three measures of confidence each month; how they measure current single-family home sales and what they expect from those sales over the next six months - both on a scale of "good," "fair," or "poor," and whether current traffic of prospective buyers is "high to very high," "average," or "low to very low." Each measure is ranked separately and then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index. Any number over 50 for the components or the main index indicates that more builders view sales conditions as positive rather than negative.
Following a slide that has gone on for months, the HMI declined another two points in August to 22, the lowest level the 20 year survey has seen since January, 1991. The index gauging current single-family home sales fell a single point, to 23, while the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months declined two points to 32 and that gauging traffic of prospective buyers declined three points to 16.
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) President Brian Catalde said, "Builders realize that issues related to mortgage credit cost and availability have become more acute, filtering some prospective buyers out of the market and prompting others to delay their decision to purchase a new home. Builders are responding by trimming prices and stepping up non-price incentives to bolster sales and limit cancellations, although we're dealing in a difficult market environment."
NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders cited the subprime mortgage situation as being a part of the problem but said, "... the government-related parts of the mortgage market still are functioning well and the underlying economic fundamentals promise to remain solid for some time - providing support to the longer-run housing outlook. We now expect to see home sales return to an upward path by early next year and we expect housing starts to begin a gradual recovery process by mid-2008. From there, the market will have plenty of room to grow in 2009 and beyond."
However, we don't seem to be looking at the housing inventory that this crisis has created. Taking this into account, I would say it is time for contractors to open their eyes and see the full picture. Truth is...even in the unlikely event that the Chief Economist is correct on his timing, this mortgage crisis has change the housing market forever.
NOW... is the perfect time for all contractors who are feeling the heat from the housing bubble burst, to re-examine the way you are doing business. I know you are faced with the frustration of endless quotes and hand holding only to lose the customer to someone else who comes in with a low ball number.
JUST THINK...for one moment how powerful it would be if you spent some time now to discover exactly what motivates customers to buy at your price alone! There is a better way to solve your problems, expand your business, make more money, grab the best customers for yourself and work less stressful hours.
I call it the...TIME TO EDUCATE YOURSELF NOW PLAN!!!
Now I have been close to the construction business for most of my life. My entire family is builders and I work with builders all over the country on marketing and business building techniques. I see the pain everywhere from the housing slump. And I have never seen a time more appropriate for the tradesmen of the Construction Industry to put down the hammer, saw, and nails for just one moment to hear this message.
You certainly know your trade, but do you really know how to run a successful business???
So...I have decided to write this article to offer up some opportunities for you to grow your construction business beyond where you stand now and secure it's growth into the future, placing your business in a place to where the slumping market will only seem like a problem for the other guys, the ones who haven't taken the opportunity to learn, educate, and grow.
First I want to talk to you about coaching, now before you shake your head, just think for a moment about the most successful people in this world... Take Tiger Woods for instance, when Tiger was hitting a down slide the first thing he did was hire a coach to get him back to where he needed to be.
Think of actors, actresses, singers, politicians and entrepreneurs... Coaches aren't just for top performing athletes, and political geniuses. "Regular people" have and need coaches that push them to new heights, that help them find that slight edge, tweak their performance, and push them to more success. They need someone who will listen to them, assess their situation, and push their performance to the peak of their potential. Coaching is about unlocking a person's potential to maximize his or her performance; coaching is about helping people learn to succeed and excel on their own.
The monthly report on new residential construction issued by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed permits for privately-owned building permits for residential construction being issued at a rate drop of 2.8 percent below the revised June rate of 22.6 percent below the revised estimate in July one year ago.
Builders were holding around 194,000 permits on which construction had not yet begun in July compared to 206,900 in June. A staggering 103,800 of those permits were in the Southern states as were nearly 50 percent of the 117,500 unused permits for single family construction.
So why are you just sitting there watching your money fly out the window???
Not surprisingly, builder confidence is also eroding. The latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) took another hit in August, reaching its lowest level in over16 years.
The HMI asks builders to respond to three measures of confidence each month; how they measure current single-family home sales and what they expect from those sales over the next six months - both on a scale of "good," "fair," or "poor," and whether current traffic of prospective buyers is "high to very high," "average," or "low to very low." Each measure is ranked separately and then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index. Any number over 50 for the components or the main index indicates that more builders view sales conditions as positive rather than negative.
Following a slide that has gone on for months, the HMI declined another two points in August to 22, the lowest level the 20 year survey has seen since January, 1991. The index gauging current single-family home sales fell a single point, to 23, while the index gauging sales expectations for the next six months declined two points to 32 and that gauging traffic of prospective buyers declined three points to 16.
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) President Brian Catalde said, "Builders realize that issues related to mortgage credit cost and availability have become more acute, filtering some prospective buyers out of the market and prompting others to delay their decision to purchase a new home. Builders are responding by trimming prices and stepping up non-price incentives to bolster sales and limit cancellations, although we're dealing in a difficult market environment."
NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders cited the subprime mortgage situation as being a part of the problem but said, "... the government-related parts of the mortgage market still are functioning well and the underlying economic fundamentals promise to remain solid for some time - providing support to the longer-run housing outlook. We now expect to see home sales return to an upward path by early next year and we expect housing starts to begin a gradual recovery process by mid-2008. From there, the market will have plenty of room to grow in 2009 and beyond."
However, we don't seem to be looking at the housing inventory that this crisis has created. Taking this into account, I would say it is time for contractors to open their eyes and see the full picture. Truth is...even in the unlikely event that the Chief Economist is correct on his timing, this mortgage crisis has change the housing market forever.
NOW... is the perfect time for all contractors who are feeling the heat from the housing bubble burst, to re-examine the way you are doing business. I know you are faced with the frustration of endless quotes and hand holding only to lose the customer to someone else who comes in with a low ball number.
JUST THINK...for one moment how powerful it would be if you spent some time now to discover exactly what motivates customers to buy at your price alone! There is a better way to solve your problems, expand your business, make more money, grab the best customers for yourself and work less stressful hours.
I call it the...TIME TO EDUCATE YOURSELF NOW PLAN!!!
Now I have been close to the construction business for most of my life. My entire family is builders and I work with builders all over the country on marketing and business building techniques. I see the pain everywhere from the housing slump. And I have never seen a time more appropriate for the tradesmen of the Construction Industry to put down the hammer, saw, and nails for just one moment to hear this message.
You certainly know your trade, but do you really know how to run a successful business???
So...I have decided to write this article to offer up some opportunities for you to grow your construction business beyond where you stand now and secure it's growth into the future, placing your business in a place to where the slumping market will only seem like a problem for the other guys, the ones who haven't taken the opportunity to learn, educate, and grow.
First I want to talk to you about coaching, now before you shake your head, just think for a moment about the most successful people in this world... Take Tiger Woods for instance, when Tiger was hitting a down slide the first thing he did was hire a coach to get him back to where he needed to be.
Think of actors, actresses, singers, politicians and entrepreneurs... Coaches aren't just for top performing athletes, and political geniuses. "Regular people" have and need coaches that push them to new heights, that help them find that slight edge, tweak their performance, and push them to more success. They need someone who will listen to them, assess their situation, and push their performance to the peak of their potential. Coaching is about unlocking a person's potential to maximize his or her performance; coaching is about helping people learn to succeed and excel on their own.
