The Week in Review
.....your Wilmington Connection
November 23rd 2008
Chilly start to the Week...I would like to wish you and your Family a Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks is an expression of gratitude, not an expression of selfishness, which unfortunately, we have all gotten too accustomed of doing. ou know, we're in the 'Me Society.' It's all about me, me, me.
But as we draw to the Thanksgiving holiday, I trust that we'll all take a little time and reflect on all we have to be thankful for.
2.5 Million...to Dredge Intracoastal Waterway
U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre's office on Thursday afternoon announced that $2.5 million has been secured for maintenance dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway.
The federal funds were included in the recently passed Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2009.
President Bush had proposed less than $1 million for waterway dredging in North Carolina. The Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the waterway, received $5.5 million for dredging in the 2008 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.
"This is truly a blessing for public safety, emergency preparedness, tourism, our boating community and our marine businesses," McIntyre said in a release announcing the funding. "An open and navigable Intracoastal Waterway greatly contributes to a thriving economy, and I am thrilled these federal funds have come through!"
The release also states that the work will be centered in Brunswick County and start next month.
Titan Cement Plant
New Hanover County officials worked quietly for three years to lure Titan America LLC to Castle Hayne. When the news finally broke in April, county officials said the new cement plant would create jobs and send a positive ripple through the regional economy. But a growing number of concerned residents say the environmental price is too high. And they are preparing for a fight.
New Home Sales
Lost among the bank failures and resale downsizing has been the plight of new home sales and marketing companies. Once the high-flying benefactors of an explosion of new home sales, they now find themselves wondering where future closings will come from.
While there is excessive new home inventory at the moment, builders have withdrawn from the market and will not return any time soon. In regions with limited developable land, such as San Diego, they won't be back at all. Infill, multi-family, and urban redevelopment characterize a builder's options. They may not offer the economy of scale required by large builders nor the large promotional budget needed to support the infrastructure of a sales and marketing company.
For the most part, new home sales and marketing companies are paid for their expertise and act in a consultant's capacity, advising developers. At the moment, most of that advice is being directed toward lowering prices because, in reality, it doesn't matter how much traffic you generate if the traffic perceives the product as overpriced.
Generally, they are the organizations who coordinate the work of an ad agency, designer, and a public relations firm while also providing an on-site sales force. Compensation is usually a commission at closing and, possibly, bonuses for hitting certain milestones. In many ways, new home marketers aren't all that different from a resale real estate agent.
But, the perception is that new home sales and marketing companies are able to do things that individual real estate agents cannot. Advice on a print media ad campaign or directing public relations initiatives are their primary activities. Generating traffic to the sight and converting that traffic to sales are their objectives.
Obviously, the developer feels as though he hired the consultant to help him make a profit. But, with business dwindling, new home sales and marketing companies can be tempted to not be emphatic for fear of losing the account altogether. As a result, builders have been chasing the market down, compounding expenses and making sales even more difficult to close.
....until next week in The Week in Review
Tina
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