Cape Business Trends newsletter October 12, 2007
The housing market
Could the Cape be bucking the national downward trend in housing? No real estate broker is quite ready to make that judgment quite yet – the consensus is “cautious optimism.” But while September proved a dark month across much of the country and Massachusetts – including neighboring Plymouth County – something curious is happening on the Cape.
For the fourth consecutive month, home prices rose – after a dismal first half of the year. Since May, the median price of a single-family home on the Cape has risen from $325,000 to $387,500 in September. That is the highest monthly value registered throughout the entire year.
Consider too that previous recent summers on the Cape have witnessed a drop in home prices, even before the current housing swoon that began in earnest about two years ago.
Even with the recent spur, though, the median price of a home on the Cape is down nearly 6 percent for the entire year. That underscores just how depressed the market was before the latest four-month improvement
So, is this the time to buy? Sell? Upgrade? Will you miss the bottom of the market? Real estate experts are at best “cautiously optimistic” that the worst may be behind us. But, if pricing is a criteria, something very intriguing is under way on the Cape, in contrast to continued price declines nationwide and as close as Plymouth County.
Seismic shifts that will affect your business
1) Shifting from a seasonal to year-round, 24/7 economy. It’s building online stores, working anywhere from a laptop; staying open on weekends to serve second- home owners.
2) It’s all about demographics. The fastest-growing population ranges from ages 45 to 65. More people between ages 65 and 75 are leaving the Cape than coming here. Baby boomers are reinventing themselves, rather than retiring as their parents did.
3) Four of 10 households are second homes. In many towns, the percentage exceeds 50 percent. This fraction rises even higher among homes valued above $600,000. The vast majority live elsewhere in Massachusetts, close enough to come here year-round.
4) There are an estimated 2,500 businesses on the Cape conducting white-collar operations at home. Most of their business is off-Cape.
For more insight into how your business can take advantage of the economic and demographic trends that will determine our future, join us for a breakfast seminar next Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in Yarmouth, cohosted by the Yarmouth Area Chamber of Commerce. Presenters will include Peter Karlson of NeuEon, discussing ways to use technology to address these trends, and Barry Neagle of Neagle & Associates, focusing on business and management strategies. There is a $20 charge for breakfast and a contribution to the Cultural Center. To register, click here or call Sara at (508) 385-3811.
Women as customers and clients
How important is the second-home market to your company? Consider that 17,000 second homes on the Cape are owned by women. Can you find them and serve them? And if so, what do they demand as customers and clients?
Consider these other statistics. How do they influence your business decisions?
• 37 million women invest today.
• 43 percent of Americans with $500,000 of assets are women.
• 72 percent of married women are the primary purchasers in families
• Nearly 1 in 3 women are more involved in financial decisions than they were 5 years ago.
• 42 million women are ages 40 to 60.
• Women own solely or jointly 87 percent of homes.
• Women control or influence 80 percent of consumer purchases.
• Baby boomer women are six times more likely to share responsibility for savings and investments than their mothers did.
• By the year 2010, 60 percent of wealth will be controlled by women.
This is why Cape Business is providing its own clients and customers with a special seminar next month on Marketing to Women. If you would like to learn more about this invitation-only event, please call Bob Viamari at (508) 385-3811 or Bob@capebusiness.net.
Where the jobs are
Our upcoming issue of Cape Business focuses on the jobs picture across the Cape. What are the jobs most in demand here?
The highest demand is for those in business and financial management, architecture and engineering, and all aspects of health care. The lowest demand is for those in community and social services, education and production. There are reasonable shots at jobs in office and administration support, sales, computer services and management.
For a complete listing of job vacancies and wages and salaries, be on the lookout for your Cape Business magazine this November. If you are not receiving our magazine in the mail, subscribe online at www.capebusiness.net/subscribe.php.
The Fair Plan
State Attorney General Martha Coakley is seeking a massive rate cut in the Massachusetts Fair Plan, saying the state's home insurer of last resort was gouging homeowners while earning more than $100 million in profits over the past three years.
The Fair Plan provides home insurance to consumers that private companies are unwilling to cover, including many on Cape Cod. Regulators have asked for an average statewide rate increase of 13.8 percent - and a 25 percent increase on Cape Cod.
Calling the rate calculations "grossly inflated," Coakley said the Fair Plan's statewide average rate should be cut 18 percent and its prices on the Cape and Islands should be reduced 29 percent.
In response, Jack Golembeski, president of the Fair Plan, told the Boston Globe that the company's rate request was actuarially justified. When the Fair Plan filed its rate request in April, its base premium on the Cape was $1,155 and its average premium was $1,500.
Economic summit
The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is holding a half day forum on the changing face of Cape Cod’s current population and potential customers, while evaluating trends in New England and what they mean for the region. The event, featuring demographer Peter Francesi, begins at 8 a.m. Friday, October 26. The cost is $25 per person. To register, click here or call (508) 362-3225, ext. 515.
Health care reform: An employer's guide
Business owners and managers across the region are grappling with the requirements of the Massachusetts Health Care Reform regulations. We asked our legal expert, attorney Beth O’Neal of Masterman Culbert & Tully LLP, to provide a primer for our readers on the mandate. This information is accurate as of October 1, 2007, and can be found online here.
Patrick files casino legislation
Gov. Deval Patrick would exercise full appointment control of a gaming control board that would oversee the casino industry he wants to create here, under legislation the governor announced Thursday.
The Massachusetts Gaming Control Authority board, which would control the bidding process, and then oversee the industry once it’s established, would be established under the bill, according to sources briefed on the plan. The authority would implement minimum bid standards like hotel room and job capacity, impose employment regulations, and have the ability to revoke licenses, sources said.
Under another provision of the bill, cities and towns would have to approve casino proposals for their communities by ballot referenda before developers could enter an auction process for gambling licenses.
Aides would not discuss any preference bestowed on Indian tribes, a strategy Patrick had hinted at last month when he said he expected “special weight” for them. They said they expected Indians to participate in the bidding process instead of pursuing a longer route to federal casino approval. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe won local approval by a 2-1 margin last July in a Middleborough town meeting vote.
Are you thinking green?
If your company or organization is building “green” into your business model, we would like to hear your story. From solar power to new product design to encouraging employees to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles, we want to hear about it. Contact Editor Glenn Ritt at glenn@capebusiness.net or (508) 385-3811.
If you are a home-based business
Our editors want to profile home-based businesses next year and we want to discover what resources you require to be successful on Cape Cod. Please contact us at glenn@capebusiness.net.
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