NAHB: Don’t Let The Numbers Cloud Your Vision

Could it be that the National Association of Home Builders is so busy putting out the spec in the governments eyes that they lost their vision because they have a log in their own?

Every single day they are lobbying at local, state, and the national level on behalf of potential homeowners.

They are totally focused on working to keep mortgage rates down, reducing the amount of down payments required, offsetting new laws that will add expense to implement, and convincing those in power to revise appraisal guidelines to some thing that makes sense. It is an incredible organization with invaluable work to do.

But one has to wonder if during what has to be the most difficult time in years, the NAHB hasn’t lost its vision among the charts, studies, and proposals.

Our country needs to see homes under construction and hear hammers driving nails into rooftops to start to believe that a recovery is underway.  Speeches, talking heads, and even what we read, will not do it.

The NAHB needs a vision, a goal in terms of housing starts.  Regardless of the market, housing needs to be proactively marketed.

How many home starts have they targeted for the next 12 months? Not projected. Targeted.

Lets say, for example, that a state association targets the selling of  20,000 new homes in the next 12 months.

Can this be done? Without a marketing strategy and tactics, the answer would be ‘no’.

But a strategy and production goal would create focus and urgency and help home builders and others think creatively.

Here’s a thought. According to the National Association of Home Builders about 50 percent of those who are buying new homes are first time home buyers (unencumbered renters).

Let’s assume that 500,000 new  homes will be sold in 2011.  According to the National Association of Home Builders about 50% (250,000) homes are purchased by first time home buyers. They also tell us that about 50% of all homes are sold by cobrokers.

Now, lets say that in 2112 the NAHB sets a goal to increase sales to first time home buyers 20% (50,000) and set another goal to increase cobroker sales by 50% (50,000).

Now they have a vision they can share with Washington that makes this understandable and maybe a little emotional, especially when they tie the fact that more than 100 familes get pay checks every time a new home is constructed.

To make this work, it would take a smart marketing campaign and ‘all in’ support from the National Association of Realtors.  Buyers fear what they don’t understand and today they do not know if they can or should buy a new home or a resale for that matter.

Give the country a vision, because it will take a vision as well as hope and knowledge to get the undecides to move from renting to ownership and real estate agents to bring their ready, willing and able prospects to new homes centers.