Cape Business Trends newsletter February 22, 2007
BizWiz coming on March 6
Find your “Recipe for Business Success” at the 4th Annual BizWiz Conference & Marketplace, set for 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, at the Four Points by Sheraton Hyannis. Register online before February 27 and automatically be entered to win dinner gift certificates to some of the Cape’s finest restaurants. To register, click here or call 508-362-3225, ext. 537 or 515.
BizWiz will feature Hospitality Marketing Outlook 2007, presented by the Massachusetts Lodging Association and Cape Cod Hospitality Marketing Association.
The foreclosure story
Bankers interviewed by Cape Business report virtually no foreclosures or lapsed mortgage payments from their customers across the Cape. This is despite high statewide foreclosure numbers. That’s probably because local banks have stayed clear of exotic mortgages that have led to sudden and large increases in monthly payments as interest rates rise. These loans are more common among mortgage brokers and Internet-based companies.
At the same time, banks do report a decline in commercial lending activity among builders and developers – a sure indication of the 18-month decline in home sales.
A whiff of recovery?
Could the housing market be ready for a recovery? Nationally, many economists are suggesting a recovery beginning by the third quarter of this year. But signals are mixed. Here on the Cape, many real estate brokers were reporting surprise (and some delight) that their own business had picked up in December as sellers adjusted their prices downward.
The latest numbers released by the Cape & Islands Association of Realtors would seem to reinforce that anecdotal evidence. Some 212 single-families homes were sold in January, up 15 percent from a year earlier. Condo sales, however, declined 15 percent. One factor in the improvement: far better weather than last year, with virtually no snow. It will be interesting to see whether February’s much-colder weather will have an adverse impact.
The Realtors track only transactions within the Multiple Listing Service.
Tedeschi selling its shopping centers here
Tedeschi Realty Corporation’s decision to sell its shopping centers in southern New England will affect Skaket Corners in Orleans – where Shaw’s is building a new supermarket – as well as the Star plazas in Harwich and Hyannis and the Stop & Shop plaza in Sandwich.
It will not affect the Shaw’s plaza in Yarmouth nor Tedeschi’s plans for the Golden Triangle in Sandwich, says the company, which hopes for bids on the property by the end of March.
Yarmouth’s changing population
Did you know that between now and 2010, Yarmouth is projected to lose about 15 percent of its population between the ages of 35 and 39? Meanwhile, the number of residents between 55 and 59 is expected to grow by nearly 24 percent. This reflects the affordable housing challenge for younger families and the arrival of baby boomers with ready-made wealth.
This is a smattering of the information included in our upcoming Villages of Yarmouth publication in the May/June edition of Cape Business. Please join us at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 1, at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in Yarmouth, 307 Old Main St., as we launch this publication in partnership with the Yarmouth Area Chamber of Commerce. To RSVP, please call us at (508) 385-3811.
Selling to the baby boomers
About those baby boomers – they aren’t coming to the Cape to retire. They will be redefining themselves by starting or buying businesses here. That theme comes across loudly and clearly in Cape Business’ July Personal Finance publication. To learn more about baby boomers and this special edition, please call Bob Viamari at (508) 385-3811.
Here are some facts and figures about baby boomers, compliments of the Senior Resource Alliance of Cape Cod:
• They account for 60 percent of all health-care spending.
• They account for 80 percent of all luxury travel.
• They are the fastest-growing segment on the Internet, spending more time online than teenagers.
• They represent 42 percent of all museum visitors.
• They stay longer at vacation spots than any other age group.
How can you use this information for your own business? Cape Business and CPA Kathey Hickey Fulham of Osterville will host a seminar on marketing to the baby boomers this spring. To reserve your seat, please call us at (508) 385-3811.
One way to reach second-home owners? Stay open for them
The January/February edition of Cape Business magazine includes a full-page map of the Cape, with the percentage of second homes in each town. Many readers were surprised to learn that a number of communities now have more second homes than full-time residences.
One business that is not surprised is Shoreline Interiors in Harwich, which sells furniture and home accessories. Owner Bill Bohlin stays open every Sunday – in large part to meet the needs of his many second-home customers. Some drop by late in the afternoon on their way off-Cape after a weekend here. Often, they end up buying for their off-Cape home and have it shipped by Shoreline.
If half of your potential customer base represents second-home owners, the obvious question is: How do you reach them? One way is to consider when to have your doors open to meet their schedules.
Golf season arriving
In the midst of spending $6 million for a Jack Nicklaus redesign of its golf course, Ocean Edge Resort & Club in Brewster has hired Robert J. Newman as its new general manager. The course is slated for completion by October, with the front nine holes debuting in time for the Memorial Day weekend.
Newman most recently served as general manager at Doubletree Hotel Downtown Boston and the Doubletree Boston Bayside. Both are part of Corcoran Jennison Hospitality, the latest owners of Ocean Edge.
King’s Way Golf Club has changed its name and mission. It now is The Club at Yarmouthport and it recently named well-known golf professional and teacher Bob Miller as its general manager.
A main reason for the name change: to signal that membership is now open to golfers beyond the King’s Way community. Miller will be targeting corporate members and second-home owners who have limited time to play, but want a club experience and the certainty of tee times around their work and weekend schedules. He’s inaugurated Cape Golf Connect, 90-minute forums to include segments on equipment, lessons and swing tips, as well as golf psychology and fitness. Miller will be Cape Business’ golf writer this season. To learn more about Cape Golf Connect, call him at (508) 362-5200, ext. 10.
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