Even in this month filled with special events and parties, the annual holiday party hosted by NAHB’s 50+ Housing Council stood out! Betsy Sheppard and Louise Plonowski of The Gilbert & Sheppard Group celebrated on Tuesday, December 11 with fellow 50+ Housing Council members and guests at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia in Atlanta.
In addition to a great lunch and some splendid networking opportunities, the guests appreciated the thoughtful and illuminating keynote address by NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. He highlighted the current state of the economy in the US, and in Atlanta in particular, including the prospects for the 50+ housing market.
Some of the major points of Mr. Crowe made during his speech were:
- There is no consistent national trend.
- Recovery is local, and it is spreading.
- The country is transitioning from a lack of demand to a lack of supply.
- We are seeing promising housing data in a not so promising economy.
Above all, he noted that consumer confidence is increasing, and there are currently more serious homebuyers than in the past few years.
“I am especially encouraged by Mr. Crowe’s focus on the positive housing indicators that show promise for the future,” noted Betsy Sheppard, who will serve on the 2013 board of directors for the Atlanta 50+ Housing Council. “I also was very interested in learning more about the NAHB expectations for the next 24 months.”
For more information and insights in the current housing market, check out NAHB’s blog, or visit www.housingeconomics.com.
The Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors recently announced the new Leadership Gilmer Class for 2012 – 2013. Betsy Sheppard of Gilbert & Sheppard Group was elected to this class. “I am very excited about this year-long leadership program and I look forward to our first Kick-Off Mixer today at the Chamber’s office in Ellijay”, said Betsy.
Gilbert & Sheppard Group is pleased to announce the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 700th local impact of home building study released earlier this year. These studies “estimate the jobs, income, and taxes generated by home building in various metropolitan areas, non-metropolitan counties, and states across the country,” according to a blog on the NAHB website. The studies have proven very helpful in the housing industry as the studies prove building in typical metropolitan areas bring large amounts of income and hundreds of jobs to the market.
The local impact of home building study in your area can be downloaded and printed at no charge. Also available is a “companion study that shows how much new housing costs local governments in a typical metropolitan area, and how quickly new housing pays for itself.” To view your area’s local study, visit the local impact of home building page on the NAHB website.
For more information on Gilbert & Sheppard Group, visit our website GilbertSheppard.com.
Gilbert & Sheppard Group is excited that TopRetirements.com recently released their annual List of 100 Best Places to Retire. This year, the Sunbelt remains in the top of boomers’ favorite regions to retire to. Florida dominates the list with 26 spots, followed by North Carolina with 11 spots and South Carolina and Arizona with 7 spots each.
Asheville, North Carolina took the top spot for the sixth year in a row and Sarasota, Florida was named number two again. The top 10 cities remained the same this year just jockeying positions within the grouping. Charleston, South Carolina made a large jump in popularity this year moving from 65th to 24th position.
The TopRetirements.com list has been published yearly since 2007 based on their exclusive criteria from their website. Featuring over 815 cities, they track the online visits to each city over the last 6 months of the year to determine popularity. To see all of the cities featured on this year’s Best Places to Retire list, click here . For more information on Gilbert & Sheppard Group, visit our website GilbertSheppard.com
A recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that the top-selling communities in the Atlanta are located away from the heart of the city. In the outskirts of the metro area, older buyers are enjoying the Georgia countryside with the conveniences of proximity to the city.
Now that active adult communities are offering more all-inclusive lifestyles, older buyers are not in need of the closeness to a town center. Organized activities for retirees within the communities as well as group outings and trips make the convenience of the city unnecessary.
In the article, Robert Tutterow, professor of economics at Mercer University stated: “This is probably a segment of the market that is not fixated on trying to time the absolute bottom of (home) prices. They’re looking for a lifestyle choice.”
Also according to the article, the active adult sector is “a great emerging market that we’re going to see and hear more about as the years progress.” The baby boomer generation is getting closer to retirement and will add a significant number of retirement buyers to the housing market.
Charlotte Sears, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Atlanta said, “Atlanta is going to be more and more attractive for retirees. The families that moved to the city in the housing boom have grown up, and now that the oldest members are ready to retire, they’re less likely to leave the state.” She also noted, “the metro area has good weather, quiet mountain areas, relative proximity to beaches and plenty of activities geared to older populations.”
As marketers for active adult and retirement communities we look forward to a strong active adult market in and around the Atlanta area!
Stonecrest Homes has started construction in three new home communities. Cochran Farms is located in Marietta, Georgia and both Serenity Estates and Pine Grove Estates are in the heart of Roswell, Georgia. For more information, visit http://www.stonecresthomesga.com
Stonecrest Homes Atlanta, founded by real estate veterans Charles Heiser, Jr. and Jim Chapman, is pleased with the company’s achievements in 2010 and are expanding to several new neighborhoods in 2011.
Stonecrest Homes welcomed their first new homebuyers at their Lawrenceville community, McIntosh Place and at Palisades at Harmony on the Lakes in Canton. For more information, please visit www.stonecresthomesga.com.
Ensight Homes is now building in three neighborhoods in Columbia, South Carolina and will soon begin construction in Charleston, SC.
The new home building company is led by veteran builders Jeremy Graves, Busgy Graves and Andy White. Ensight Homes is please to introduce homes that have fresh open floorplans, are energy efficient and built by a Master Builder. To learn more about Ensight Homes, visit www.ensighthomes.com.
B. Sheppard Consulting and Saluda River Club was recently awarded a Silver Award for the Best Brochure/Booklet for Marketing Communications. The award for the brochure – “Welcome to the Good Life at Saluda River Club” was presented by the Mature Market Resource Center headquartered in Libertyville, IL. To see a list of all awards, visit www.seniorawards.com/winners.
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silver award In a 409-5 vote, House lawmakers have passed a standalone bill that would extend for three month Wednesday’s deadline for closing on a home purchase in order to claim the federal homebuyer tax credit. The Senate could vote on the bill, HR 5623 as soon as tomorrow.
