It certainly has been a rough recession (is there any other kind?). For us in the Carolina's, Georgia and Tennessee we felt the drop about a year after South Florida. South Florida officially started down in Real Estate in July of 2005; now going on 4 years. Now that the dates are known when will we book an official bottom and even more importantly, when will we see positive economic growth again in Real Estate and beyond?
This month (March 2009) many indices are pointing to better times ahead. First came the report of February existing home sales, multi-home sales nationwide and more recently new home sales and durable goods. Interestingly, these aforementioned items generally lead us into a recession, but do not necessarily lead us to a recovery. However, in this case, since our government has put such an emphasis on Real Estate it looks as though this will be the leader. Hard times are still ahead for automobiles as projections of new units are at a low 10 million cars a year in 2009, down from record highs around 16 million/year just 2 years ago.
As consultants it is our job to look where ever we can for reliable changes in the market. Reliable changes being the key phrase. While it appears good for February and March in the housing sector, what will April and May bring? Again, let's look at some trends in housing.
Mortgages are at their all time lows and mortgage brokers and banks are busy writing business again.
Nearly all of the original $700 billion stimulus has been spent, although we have no detailed reports as of yet where exactly the money went, it will soon show results.
Real Estate inventory around Florida is falling, so are prices but not as drastically. The minute foreclosures begin dropping as a large percentage of sales, prices will begin to rise...slowly. This is a buying opportunity.
In Atlanta last summer the MLS billboard along the interstate showed approximately 102,000 homes listed. Last week it was around 82,000.
AS WHEN ENTERING ANY RECESSION, IT IS NEVER JUST ONE ITEM THAT BRINGS DOWN THE ECONOMY TO NEGATIVE GROWTH LEVELS. IT IS A SERIES OF INTER-RELATED FACTORS THAT BEGIN THE ACTUAL AND PERCEIVED DOWNTURN AND THE ACCOMPANYING HUMAN PESSIMISM.
SO TO IS THE BEGINNING OF A RENEWED ECONOMIC TREND TO THE POSITIVE. TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL IS REPORTING MUCH LESS PAIN AND AGONY AS THEY WERE FROM OCTOBER 2008 UNTIL MARCH 1ST 2009.
LOOK AROUND AND OBSERVE THE NEWS AND ITS TONE. FINALLY AMERICANS ARE STARTING TO GET TIRED OF SITTING AROUND COMPLAINING AND WE SEEM TO BE TOUCHING OUR TOE IN THE ECONOMIC WATERS THAT AWAIT.
AS CONSULTANTS, WE OBSERVE, WE ANALYSE, WE QUESTION AND WE ARRANGE FACTS IN A LOGICAL FASHION IN ORDER TO MAKE DECISIONS FAVORABLE TO OUR CLIENTS. SO WHAT ADVICE DO WE GIVE OUR CLIENTS TODAY....."IT IS TIME TO BE WATCHFUL AND PREPARED." REAL ESTATE GOES ON IN A SLOWER BUT CHANGING ENVIRONMENT. OUR CLIENTS ARE IN VARIOUS STAGES; SOME ARE MOVING INVENTORY, SOME ARE RETOOLING PRODUCT WITH NEW DESIGNS AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS,SOME ARE BEGINNING TO LOOK AT ADDING LAND TO THEIR INVENTORIES FOR NEW COMMUNITIES AS OTHERS SELL OR JOINT VENTURE EXISTING LAND HOLDINGS. AS PART OF THESE OPERATIONS BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS ARE REVISITING THEIR BANKS AND MODIFYING THEIR FINANCING TERMS OR PLACING NEW FINANCING. TIMING IN OUR BUSINESS IS EVERYTHING BECAUSE REAL ESTATE TAKES TIME TO SPOOL UP, AND TIME MEANS EXPOSURE TO MARKETS THAT CHANGE IN CYCLES. NO ONE SAID IT WAS EASY, BUT KEYS TO THE FUTURE ARE IN THE NEWS EVERY SINGLE DAY.......AND TO, THAT IS WHERE YOUR CONSULTANT SHOULD BE! GET THE EDGE.
SINCERELY,
THE EDGE TEAM
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
SUBJECT: How to determine the worth of your consulting team.
Choosing a consultant can be a daunting task. Many people claim to be an expert or a consultant, so how do you know?
KEYS TO A GOOD CONSULTANT:
1. The consultant must be relevant to the reason you are asking him to join your team. In other words, will he add value to your assignment? Value adding is important.
2. The person or team should be experienced with years of success in the field you are in.
3. The consulting team should have a diverse background amongst themselves. This is true for nearly every industry. With Edge the spectrum of services is very broad because the partners each enjoyed a long career in separate but similar disciplines- i.e., Sales, Marketing and Advertising plus Building, Development and Financial.
4. Chemistry within the group. A consultant will likely be around for some time interacting with your group. He must be compatible with the client’s team.
5. Commitment to excel. Generally a consultant is coming aboard to solve a problem or affect a solution or new direction. Smart people hire consultants, so the fix or that little bit of key advice that will make the difference is generally hard to find at first. A real commitment to the task is a must. This goes back to #1; is there value added to justify the fee. Committed consultants are worth their weight in gold because they become the least expensive cost to solving your problem.
6. The client must be open to “outside the box thinking.” This is easy to comprehend and is often the best reason to periodically hire consultants even when you may not need them. A business or corporate culture gets predictable and looses creativity over time simply because they are used to their way of operating. Consultants not only work for you, they may work for someone in your business or even in your area. Consultants see a broader base of successful tactics to common problems from their client base. The broad over view a consultant offers its clients gives you ideas beyond your own business culture……truly outside the box.
7. Having a consultant on fee for the time necessary to analyze the corrections and make mid-course corrections during the implementation phase. Consultants are human and they need to evaluate their own solutions as an ongoing process. They need time to watch their recommendations flower into a successful plan.
8. A consultant should always stay in touch, even after the completion of an assignment. Prudent clients realize that overhead is expensive but consulting is not. It saves money in the end and often replaces overhead.
9. Good in any region. Real Estate is Real Estate. There certainly are regional differences both geographically and otherwise. But nuances by Region are generally not difficult to quantify and overcome, and can in many cases offer fresh solutions to that region from outside. We have worked with California architects in Florida and North Carolina. The brainpower and creativity was worth the adaptations required. Building codes may vary, but sticks are sticks and bricks are bricks. Good floor plans and elevation designs cross regional boundaries easily and frequently.
The Keys to a good consultant are many, but the overall cost is a bargain if the consultant has done his job.
Choosing a consultant can be a daunting task. Many people claim to be an expert or a consultant, so how do you know?
KEYS TO A GOOD CONSULTANT:
1. The consultant must be relevant to the reason you are asking him to join your team. In other words, will he add value to your assignment? Value adding is important.
2. The person or team should be experienced with years of success in the field you are in.
3. The consulting team should have a diverse background amongst themselves. This is true for nearly every industry. With Edge the spectrum of services is very broad because the partners each enjoyed a long career in separate but similar disciplines- i.e., Sales, Marketing and Advertising plus Building, Development and Financial.
4. Chemistry within the group. A consultant will likely be around for some time interacting with your group. He must be compatible with the client’s team.
5. Commitment to excel. Generally a consultant is coming aboard to solve a problem or affect a solution or new direction. Smart people hire consultants, so the fix or that little bit of key advice that will make the difference is generally hard to find at first. A real commitment to the task is a must. This goes back to #1; is there value added to justify the fee. Committed consultants are worth their weight in gold because they become the least expensive cost to solving your problem.
6. The client must be open to “outside the box thinking.” This is easy to comprehend and is often the best reason to periodically hire consultants even when you may not need them. A business or corporate culture gets predictable and looses creativity over time simply because they are used to their way of operating. Consultants not only work for you, they may work for someone in your business or even in your area. Consultants see a broader base of successful tactics to common problems from their client base. The broad over view a consultant offers its clients gives you ideas beyond your own business culture……truly outside the box.
7. Having a consultant on fee for the time necessary to analyze the corrections and make mid-course corrections during the implementation phase. Consultants are human and they need to evaluate their own solutions as an ongoing process. They need time to watch their recommendations flower into a successful plan.
8. A consultant should always stay in touch, even after the completion of an assignment. Prudent clients realize that overhead is expensive but consulting is not. It saves money in the end and often replaces overhead.
9. Good in any region. Real Estate is Real Estate. There certainly are regional differences both geographically and otherwise. But nuances by Region are generally not difficult to quantify and overcome, and can in many cases offer fresh solutions to that region from outside. We have worked with California architects in Florida and North Carolina. The brainpower and creativity was worth the adaptations required. Building codes may vary, but sticks are sticks and bricks are bricks. Good floor plans and elevation designs cross regional boundaries easily and frequently.
The Keys to a good consultant are many, but the overall cost is a bargain if the consultant has done his job.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Why do people seek the services of consultants. For any number of reasons.
A. Many believe an outside opinion brings clarity beyond the day to day organization
B. Banks and lenders often require third party expertise
C. Others believe Overhead is Out and Consulting is in, seeking to contain their costs
D. Still others augment their company employees brain power by bringing the fresh ideas consultants offer
The definition of “consulting” is – to ask or give advice, to seek an opinion, to seek or give information. Bringing together a collaborative and cohesive team to solve a problem.
People seek consultants because their shared experiences in their profession over time creates a reservoir of information so valuable that it should be shared amongst people in like industries or fields. Our job as consultants is to broaden experience and expertise by disseminating the information we have. Sage advice is hard earned capital valuable to others seeking solutions and answers. The Edge Consultants offer this hard earned capital in many forms of data and actions. The combined resumes of Gene Berns and Steve Gravett are valuable tools for those seeking “The Sage Advice.”
A. Many believe an outside opinion brings clarity beyond the day to day organization
B. Banks and lenders often require third party expertise
C. Others believe Overhead is Out and Consulting is in, seeking to contain their costs
D. Still others augment their company employees brain power by bringing the fresh ideas consultants offer
The definition of “consulting” is – to ask or give advice, to seek an opinion, to seek or give information. Bringing together a collaborative and cohesive team to solve a problem.
People seek consultants because their shared experiences in their profession over time creates a reservoir of information so valuable that it should be shared amongst people in like industries or fields. Our job as consultants is to broaden experience and expertise by disseminating the information we have. Sage advice is hard earned capital valuable to others seeking solutions and answers. The Edge Consultants offer this hard earned capital in many forms of data and actions. The combined resumes of Gene Berns and Steve Gravett are valuable tools for those seeking “The Sage Advice.”
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