Oct 25 2007 8:03AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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Is this any way to run a blog? No entry for nearly 2 months. At some point, they’re going to take me out back and put me out of my misery. Here’s the reason for the lack of attention – travel. And travel. Then travel.

In the past two months, I have been to Seattle, Atlanta, Baltimore, Las Vegas, D.C., and an off-site company meeting in Chicago. That means, I’ve been out of the office for about 5 of those 8 weeks, meaning the remaining 3 weeks were spent trying to catch up.

That’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it. Sorry for no posts.

The great thing about the traveling is all the stuff I got to participate in. The NAHB Fall Board Meeting in Seattle was surprisingly upbeat, considering the state of the housing industry. Builders were generally optimistic in spite of the difficulties they’re facing in their businesses right now.

I ran into much the same attitude at our Benchmark Conference in Atlanta. Attendees were engaged and focused, looking for ways they can determine their own fate and not leave it in the hands of the constantly negative press.

I have also heard from many of our print readers and seen comments in the TalkBack function about how we need to battle the negative press. Yes, we’ve had a slowdown in sales, but from the consumer press you would never know that people are actually buying homes. (Here’s two examples from the Chicago area. Tribune Reports Doom and Gloom from Remodeling conference and Neumann Homes Bankruptcy)

In fact, the message should be it is a great time to buy a home. What are your experiences?