Zanola Company

Three Key Indicators for Housing Growth Presentation Reveals Community Readiness

Katie — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:57:46 +0000

Joe Zanola spoke recently at Downtown, St. Louis Partnership Event, emphasizing the three key indicators for housing growth:

Demographics
Housing Supply and Demand
Community Readiness for Demand

Here is what STL Today’s Tim Bryant has to say about the presentation: Downtown, Inner Burbs Seen as Growth Areas

Click Here for \”Blob\” Analysis

Ozarks Regional Housing and Construction Conference

Katie — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:37:26 +0000

When: May 25th, 2011 from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm

Where: Oasis Inn and Convention Center - 2546 North Glenstone, Springfield, MO, United States, 65803

The housing and construction sectors of the economy are essential for creating jobs and increasing business activity and local economic vitality. The HBA’s Ozarks Regional Housing & Construction Conference provides the private and public sectors with accurate information about the status of the housing and construction industries and practical steps to activate that information for the benefit of individual businesses, the industry and local economies. The conference is designed for Realtors, Commercial Brokers, Residential Builders, Commercial Contractors, Developers, Lenders, Elected Officials, Government Decision-Makers, Planning & Development Board Members and Related Public Sector Staff.

Zanola Company’s focused specialty presentations include:

Strategies for Subcontractors and Suppliers: Four secrets to improve your business in 2011
MarketGraphics, Demographics, and A Winning Region…Southwest Missouri Style
Luncheon Keynote Address: MarketGraphics Construction Forecast: Where are We and What is Ahead? Presented by Edsel Charles, President and Founder, MarketGraphics Research Group
Ask the Experts…Open Session
Power Leadership: The Data Every City, County, and State Government Needs (and How to Use it)

Visit The Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield to learn more or register for this important event.

2011 Lake of the Ozarks Housing and Economic Forecast

Katie — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:03:10 +0000

Lake Area Research That Matters!
Hot off the presses! MarketGraphics has completed a comprehensive audit of all new
homebuilding and related development for the entire Central Missouri Region…with a focus on the
Lake of the Ozarks.

Attend The Lake of the Ozarks Housing and Economic Forecast:

MarketGraphics Central Missouri April 2011 Housing Audit
Lake of the Ozarks Demographic Indicators
Creating Life-Long Communities for Lake Area Citizens
Secrets to Compete for More Home Sales
Forecast for an Improving Market

Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Elks Lodge #2517, 5161 Highway 54, Osage Beach

RSVP: Please let us know if you are attending by May 20. Call 314.918.7200 or e-mail Rachel
Ballard at rballard@zanolaco.com.

Presented by Joe Zanola. Zanola Company provides MarketGraphics© homebuilding and demographic
research for St. Louis, Central Missouri, and Southwest Missouri regions. Zanola helps civic leaders,
planners, lenders, developers, builders, and real estate professionals with guidance to create successful
business and community outcomes.

Also presented by Edsel Charles. Edsel Charles is Founder and Chairman of the Board of MarketGraphics
Research Group, Inc. a new home market research company that tracks over 19,500 active subdivisions,
which include 404,597 developed lots across 21 states.

Central Missouri 2011 Housing and Economic Forecast

Katie — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:35:27 +0000

Planning for the Future of St. Louis Cities

Katie — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:21:58 +0000

In a slow-growth city like St. Louis, competition among municipalities for tax dollars is fierce. Pulling big box retailers from one town and offering them tax incentives to float to another has been the main source of competition among municipalities for over 10 years. It’s time to start thinking about growth differently, not as feeding off of ourselves to stay afloat but as attracting new residents. New shoppers, new taxpayers, new rooftops. Creating and attracting lifelong municipal residents is dependent upon the type of housing that is created. The early years in the new millennium fed the belief that whatever the housing built, buyers would be endless and values would appreciate. The time has come, however to understand community demographics as an integral part of the future of our town and cities.

MarketGraphics tells us that current lot supply exceeds demand by six years. The future of our cities lies in responsibly creating the type of housing that not only attracts new residents but creates lifelong citizens. Every one of the lots that is currently in oversupply was at one point approved by their municipal planning commission and expected to create revenue and benefit the community socially and economically. The anticipated municipal population growth, educational benefit and community vibrancy is now at risk based on improper planning and lack of demographic foresight. The focus for 2011 and beyond must shift to one of thoughtful planning and approval.

Growth, Albeit Uneven

Katie — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:09:28 +0000

According to a survey (known as the Beige Book) released on October 20, 2010, by the Federal Reserve, seven of the Federal Reserve’s 12 regions reported moderate improvements in business activity, while the other five are growing too sluggishly to see improvements or to reduce the joblessness number.

For the St. Louis region, economic activity expanded modestly. Factory activity increased and makers of detergent, frozen foods, transformers, plastic products, autos and parts and primary metals reported plans to expand operations and hire new workers. Service-sector businesses also saw improvements, but hotels and casinos planned to cut back and lay off workers.

The Quiet Storm

Katie — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:11:52 +0000

When the Fed takes over a failed bank, every detail is pre-planned to ensure a seamless, panic-free process. So when WestBridge Bank, the 131st bank to fail this year, went under last week the top-secret takeover mission was as smooth as ever.

As WestBridge closed its doors to a normal business day, unannounced regulators strolled into the lobby. The bank president and employees were told of the bank’s fate by an official from the Missouri Division of Finance. Under the cloak of the night, FDIC examiners transferred all of WestBridge’s assets, accounts, staff and most loans to Midland States Bank.

Over the course of 48 hours, with help from the FDIC and Tom Flores, Midland’s Regional Market President, WestBridge Bank vanished under black plastic coverings and Midland Bank began business.

Flores says it will take at least two months to transfer all the WestBridge accounts to Midland, but the smooth finish of the now Midland States Bank lobby shows no sign of upset.

New Homes Getting Smaller

Katie — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:59:23 +0000

It’s a trend that has been anecdotally known since the beginning of 2009, but the National Association of Home Builders is backing up our hunch with census data.

“After increasing continually for nearly three decades, the average size of single-family homes completed in the United States peaked at 2,521 square feet in 2007. It was essentially flat in 2008, then dropped in 2009, so that new single-family homes were almost 100 square feet smaller in 2009 than in 2007.”

This trend happened once before in the recession of the early 1980s. While that size back was temporary, the NAHB expects the recent smaller home phenomenon to continue.

“The decline is related to phenomena such as an increased share of first-time home buyers, a desire to keep energy costs down, smaller amounts of equity in existing homes to roll into the next home, tighter credit standards and less focus on the investment component of buying a home. Many of these tendencies are likely to persist and continue affecting the new home market for an extended period.”

In our extensive demographic research for various projects around the St. Louis area, we have found that home buyers, while desiring less square footage, are requesting higher finish levels and more amenities to counteract fewer bedrooms and bathrooms.

Coca Cola Syrup Plant

Katie — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:55:59 +0000

A building permit in the amount of $11 million was applied for recently for the former Coca-Cola Syrup Plant at 8125 Michigan. A year ago the Post Dispatch reported the possibility of lofts and a ground-floor Lemp Brewery in the building.

Looks like the new River City Casino may be prompting development in the farthest reaches of South City.

2009 Interactive Permit Data Map

Katie — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:16:14 +0000

The Census building permit database contains data on permits for residential construction issued by about 21,000 jurisdictions collected in the Census Bureau’s Building Permits Survey. Monthly data are available from January 1997 through September 2009 for about 9,000 jurisdictions that respond to the monthly survey. The remaining jurisdictions report annual data only. The following map provides totals of available monthly data for building permits for the year 2009.

{Click Map to Open Interactive Link}