Gameplanresortsolutions’s Weblog
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Real Estate Sales and Marketing – Reach out to your asset…
Many realtors in today’s marketplace might think their asset is the property they are selling, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Your asset is the relationships you have and the reputation you’ve built as a trusted advisor and friend.
Do people think of you when they’re looking to buy a property? Do they think of you when they want to sell a property? Do they think of you when they have money to invest? Do they tell their friends about you? More importantly, what do they think of you?
It seems that many realtors talk to people only when they have to – when the phone rings or when someone walks in, followed by the obligatory form Christmas card.
The most successful realtors genuinely treat their customers like friends. See if this helps – insert the word friend for “client” in the following scenarios?
“What property would best suit my friend? “ Do I have that property? If I don’t, I should find it for them.
” What stage of life is my friend in, and how can I help make the next part of life great for them? ” Are they ready for a vacation home? An investment property to build a college fund? A down-size at a later stage in life?
”And hey, how is my friend anyway, maybe I should call to say hi and see how they are. “
I’m always amazed at realtors who don’t know what kind of car their client drives, what golf club they play at or where their kids are going to college (what if they wanted to buy an investment condo where their child is going to college…)
Remember when you call, the responsibility is on you to be educated about your craft -know what markets and neighborhoods are strong, have data, have news and have sources that are useful to your client.
As markets fluctuate, it’s time to reach out to our friends, and make more. New clients are increasingly hard to find, but friends tell other friends, and a network of great relationships can be born.
Some suggestions to get you thinking:
- 700,000 retirees will relocate this year, are any of them your friends?
- Over 2 million graduating high school students will start college this fall – might any parents want to purchase an investment property for them?
Spotlight Emerging Real Estate Market: Lake Guntersville, Alabama
Just 35 minutes South of Huntsville, Guntersville is at the head of the 69,000 acre Lake Guntersville, created by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1939. The lake enjoys 950 miles of winding shoreline, and is touted by ESPN and other fishing aficionados as the Best Bass Fishing in the country. ESPN hosts a minimum of 2 of their BASSMASTERs tournaments on the lake annually, and dedicates an hour of airtime each year to representing the lake and its best fishing spots.
Because a certain water depth must be maintained for river navigation, Guntersville is one of the most stable TVA reservoirs, fluctuating only two feet between its normal minimum pool in the winter and maximum pool in the summer. While most of the Southeastern lakes have been ravaged by recent droughts, Lake Guntersville has remained steady and accessible regardless of weather impacts, under the watchful eye of TVA.
The town was originally settled in the mid 1800s, but grew in popularity in the early 1940s with the opening of the Lake and becoming a favorite spot to watch boat races.
In the past 4 years, Guntersville has enjoyed double-digit tourism growth, while maintaining a fairly consistent population, estimated at 8000.
Other Quick Lake Guntersville Facts:
Guntersville was chosen by Relocate America in their list of “The 100 Best Places to Live in America”.
Taxes
| Retail Sales Tax | 8%, with an exemption for prescription drugs |
| Property Tax Estate TaxInheritance Tax | $43/$1000 in assessed value, owner occupied is assessed at 10% of market value, homestead exemption of $4,000 on assessed valueNoneNone |
Miles from Guntersville
| Atlanta, GA | 165 miles east |
| Birmingham, AL | 70 miles southwest |
| Charlotte, NC | 376 miles northeast |
| Chicago, IL | 620 miles northwest |
| Huntsville, AL | 35 minutes/30 miles north |
| Nashville, TN | 150 miles north |
| Orlando, FL | 593 miles southeast |
| Washington, DC | 714 miles northeast |
Climate
|
|
Average Temperature January: 34.4 F July: 77.2 FAverage Annual Rainfall: 47.13 in. |
Abbreviated History of Guntersville
http://www.lakeguntersville.org/pages.asp?p=4
Recreation
Golf
The Guntersville area provides golfers of all skill levels with majestic and formidable courses on which to hone their skills. Course designers have taken advantage of the region’s rolling hills and natural waterways to create some of the State’s most breathtaking and, at times, heartbreaking holes. The famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail calls the area home.
Lake Guntersville State Park Golf Course
Fishing
Whether you’re looking to hook into a world‐class bass or simply spend a lazy afternoon catching crappie under the dock, Lake Guntersville provides plenty of options and opportunities. Home to some of the best sport fishing in the country and host to national fishing tournaments, including the Bassmaster Top 150 Tournament, and Bassmaster Invitational, the lake is sure to satisfy anglers of all skill levels.
Hunting
Outdoor enthusiasts have long enjoyed the challenge of hunting in the area. Permit‐public land as well as privately owned and leased land is home to whitetail deer, mourning doves, turkey, quail, rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, and opossum. Gun and bow hunters, as well as trappers, will be richly rewarded in the region’s numerous wildlife management area refuges.
Boating
Lake Guntersville’s length and width make it an ideal venue for boating, waterskiing, sailing, and houseboat cruising. In fact, water‐skiers can glide along for miles without having to turn around.
A dozen public marinas and nearly 70 other launches throughout the region provide ample opportunity for canoe, kayak, powerboat, and sail boat enthusiasts to enjoy the water and the scenery.
Hiking/Camping
Tucked in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the Guntersville area gives outdoor enthusiasts the chance to hike, bike, and camp in some of the South’s most beautiful woodlands.
- Cheaha Mountain
- Talladega National Forest
- Lake Guntersville State Park
Cultural Activities
In addition to its natural scenic beauty, the Guntersville area offers many attractions to keep locals and tourists busy.
- U.S. Space and Rocket Center
- The Whole Backstage Theatre
- Nature Center at the Huntsville Botanical Garden
- Carnegie Visual Arts Center
- Alabama Ballet Summer Residency at Gorham’s Bluff
- Alabama Music Hall of Fame
- Guntersville Chamber of Commerce List of Attractions
Access To Services
Healthcare
The Guntersville area epitomizes world‐class healthcare with a local touch. Over 750 physicians practice in the region, giving it the highest physician per person ratio in the state.
- Huntsville Regional Medical Campus of the University of Alabama School of Medicine
- Baptist DeKalb
- Huntsville Hospital
- Jackson County Hospital
Transportation
- Huntsville International Airport
- Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport
- Birmingham International Airport
Real Estate Opportunities
Single family homes average $124,720 in 2007 (away from water)
Condominiums – Lighthouse Pointe lakefront resort and condominiums – fully managed resort-style community, the only lakefront resort-style community in Guntersville. Wet slips, dry boat storage, clubhouse, fitness, walking trails. 2 bedroom condominiums start at $285,000.
Home sites – Cherokee Ridge, Lindsey Harbor
June Market of Opportunity: Huntsville, Alabama
The surge of some 30,000 new residents through 2011 represents a remarkable growth to this city of 370,000 residents.
Preparation For Growth
The city has been in preparation for the growth for a few years now, including a $65 million expansion to the airport, and $279 million in road and infrastructure improvements. The city already is planning and sourcing funds for an additional $2 billion in regional infrastructure improvements to ensure the city can support the growth anticipated.
The city also has been steadily active in monitoring green space and community parks planning, to ensure the growth doesn’t overwhelm the natural beauty of the area.
An Undervalued Real Estate Market
In 2007 most of the country saw its property values fall, “for sale” signs outpace “sold” signs and once-hot markets become the stuff of Alan Greenspan’s nightmares.
But the Huntsville area real estate market just kept chugging along.
Nationally, sales of new homes in 2007 saw the biggest decline in 25 years, while Madison County’s home sales kept pace with 2006 and local sale prices rose 7 percent, to $169,000.
Experts chalk it up to a strong local economy, a steady run-up in prices averaging around 5 percent a year for the past several years and a continued influx of newcomers.
Clifton Miller, president of the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors, said the local market’s strength is nothing new.
“I’ve been in real estate here since June 1995 and it’s been booming since then,” Miller said. “They had the BRAC in 1995 (the Army Aviation Command moved from St. Louis to Huntsville, bringing some 1,800 jobs) and that brought in a lot of folks.
“After that,” he said, “I think what has sustained the economy since then has been the aerospace and military industries and the different Fortune 500 companies here. And we continue to get new business.”
Grayson Glaze, executive director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at The University of Alabama, said Huntsville’s housing market should remain bright.
“Due in part to its unrivaled growth in the demographics that drive demand for housing, Huntsville has and will continue to be one of the primary market leaders of the state’s housing sectors for years to come,” Glaze said.
In the past, the Huntsville market has performed very well where pricing is concerned as highlighted in a recent Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) report. The report listed the Top Metro Areas with the highest median price appreciation rate for 2007. Huntsville ranked 15th with a ~7% increase.
May 2008 Real Estate statistics for Huntsville: Inventory down 3%, absorption rate inventory improved to 7 months of supply, and prices remained flat but stable.
Recent Huntsville Accolades
Among the current rankings, Huntsville was ranked first in the City of the Future contest, by Foreign Direct Investment magazine:
No. 1 in the number of architectural and other engineers per 1,000 people for any U.S. city, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
No. 18 in Popular Science’s March 2008 list of America’s Greenest Cities;
No. 2 metro area for scientists and engineers by Expansion Management magazine;
No. 4 in Forbes’ fastest growing small and large metro areas, and regularly in the top 15 in Forbes’ best places for businesses and careers;
No. 5 in ComputerWorld magazine’s ranking of techiest metro areas, with 9,390 total information technology workers, or more than 5 percent of the work force.
For the full and updated list, visit www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/news/nat_recog.html
Low Cost of Living
With past moderate gains in real estate, Huntsville has remained an “accessible market” to many who sought home ownership. Recently the city and more prevalently the surrounding mountain lakes regions have seen an influx of relocating retires, due to the low cost of living, low property and income taxes, and a collection of charmed mountain lake towns that enjoy the intimate friendly nature of days past, but within minutes of the world-class healthcare and services of Huntsville.
Among all 50 states, Alabama ranks 48th in per capita taxation.
Alabama’s property tax is the lowest in the nation.
ACCRA 1st Q 2008 Cost of Living Index
|
National Average = 100
Metropolitan Area
|
Composit |
Grocery |
|
Utilities |
Trans- |
Health |
Misc. Goods |
|
| Huntsville, AL |
92.4 |
94.6 |
79.6 |
84.4 |
102.1 |
93.5 |
102.2 |
|
| Comparable Technology Communities | ||||||||
| Austin, TX |
94.7 |
93.4 |
83.8 |
93.0 |
98.7 |
96.2 |
104.1 |
|
| Charlotte, NC |
94.7 |
101.2 |
79.9 |
94.5 |
99.6 |
111.3 |
102.0 |
|
| Orlando, FL |
102.1 |
106.5 |
93.5 |
102.1 |
105.5 |
95.2 |
108.1 |
|
| Raleigh, NC |
102.0 |
98.4 |
98.3 |
90.8 |
98.8 |
106.1 |
110.5 |
|
| Richmond, VA |
107.6 |
95.7 |
114.7 |
113.4 |
106.0 |
105.8 |
104.6 |
|
| San Jose, CA |
154.3 |
140.8 |
246.0 |
100.3 |
113.1 |
117.8 |
110.5 |
|
| Major U.S. Metro Areas | ||||||||
| Atlanta, GA |
97.6 |
96.4 |
94.0 |
90.3 |
105.0 |
103.6 |
100.3 |
|
| Boston, MA |
134.0 |
121.6 |
160.5 |
130.4 |
108.5 |
136.2 |
123.8 |
|
| Chicago, IL |
111.5 |
107.9 |
129.0 |
118.0 |
109.2 |
103.3 |
96.9 |
|
| Cincinnati, OH |
91.6 |
87.9 |
82.8 |
104.0 |
99.1 |
91.3 |
94.9 |
|
| Cleveland, OH |
95.1 |
100.5 |
84.5 |
101.0 |
101.7 |
104.0 |
97.7 |
|
| Dallas, TX |
91.9 |
100.6 |
72.1 |
99.1 |
100.6 |
103.0 |
100.0 |
|
| Denver, CO |
105.1 |
104.7 |
111.4 |
103.4 |
92.8 |
104.0 |
104.2 |
|
| Detroit, MI |
97.6 |
94.3 |
99.1 |
105.6 |
99.4 |
96.8 |
94.6 |
|
| Houston, TX |
90.3 |
82.8 |
76.2 |
95.9 |
98.2 |
101.1 |
100.3 |
|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA |
150.3 |
111.4 |
256.5 |
96.9 |
111.0 |
108.9 |
102.8 |
|
| Miami-Dade County, FL |
117.8 |
105.1 |
144.4 |
100.1 |
107.7 |
107.4 |
108.4 |
|
| New York (Manhattan), NY |
218.8 |
141.0 |
404.9 |
150.1 |
124.8 |
129.1 |
142.0 |
|
| Philadelphia, PA |
122.6 |
126.5 |
140.6 |
118.5 |
105.2 |
108.6 |
113.3 |
|
| Phoenix, AZ |
101.6 |
103.8 |
101.0 |
94.7 |
98.7 |
99.0 |
104.7 |
|
| Pittsburgh, PA |
91.3 |
97.8 |
80.5 |
102.4 |
104.9 |
84.3 |
91.6 |
|
Retirees Find Huntsville’s Alabama Mountain Lakes Region
Touted by Where To Retire magazine as a “Low Cost Haven” in the July 2008 issue, Guntersville Alabama is just one of the Alabama Mountain Lakes communities enjoying an influx of retirees.
With over 700,000 retirees relocating annually in the US, Huntsville and its surrounding Alabama Mountain Lakes Region are enjoying being discovered as ideal retirement location. And while the retirees are coming from all points across the country, an increasing number have been coming from Florida and the Northeast, where property taxes, insurance and congestion have become prohibitive to a peaceful retirement.
Markets of Opportunity – Yes, there are!!
With the ever-present negative press on the real estate market, we all seek to put the industry into perspective. As a global destination sales and marketing team, Gameplan has had the good fortune to access and discover and opportunistic and/or stable real estate markets that are weathering, and oftentimes thriving.
The real estate market is certainly experiencing a considerable state of flux across the country, but like most situations, there’s an upside and a downside: The upside:
- There are stable and emerging real estate markets in the US today
- There remain undervalued markets which present opportunity for those seeking investment or long-term second home ownership opportunities
- Developers are motivated. Serious offers and inquiries are met with greater consideration than ever before. Welcome back to the Buyer’s Market.
We will be sharing the research of various emerging and opportunistic markets with you regularly. These are not necessarily locations in which Gameplan represents a specific community, but rather a collection of sourced data and facts that allow you to consider locations or specific communities that we see at the forefront of the destination opportunity in the coming years.
If we can help provide you with any information on these markets or communities, we’re always happy to assist you. Simply call us at 850-249-8125 or email us at info@gameplanrs.com
