by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
With all the information available to consumers regarding the housing market, the Northeast Florida Builders Association wants to ensure consumers receive their message that now is a “great time to buy.”
The association has launched a Web site — www.jaxhomefacts.com — to combat the local media’s use of what it calls “doom and gloom” tactics that are keeping home buyers “sitting on the fence.”
The “Great Time to Buy” PR campaign has been brought up at the association’s monthly board meetings. At last month’s meeting, the board members decided to take the campaign a step further by adding the link to their own Web site, www.nefba.com.
“Consumer perception is a problem right now,” said former NEFBA President Bryan Lendry. “Jacksonville is still selling houses right now. We’re just working off excess inventory. There’s a helluva lot of inventory out there and once they move it, it’ll be fine.”
The site will list facts about the Jacksonville market and local experts in the field will interpret national news as related to the local market. Experts include real estate consultant Charlie Clark and builders experiencing the market, according to Jean Sealey, public relations coordinator for NEFBA.
“You can make numbers say anything you want to and this is one way to debunk those misleading numbers,” she said. “We’re looking at numbers within trends; not just this month’s, but the last five years of data.”
The association said the money is not there to do print advertising, so they’ll try the Internet.
“We know that so many people go through the Internet to find homes,” said NEFBA President Jerry Linder. “We known that if linked properly, this can work. We’re shifting things and redirecting dollars for the campaign.”
NEFBA Executive Director and City Council member Daniel Davis said the site is important because everyone within
NEFBA, including associate members, is effected by media reports of the changing market.
“Everyone will feel the trickle down effect,” he said. “We have to educate the consumer that it is a great time and, in fact, it’s probably the best time ever.
“Unfortunately, people see the misleading headlines and they become concerned about the market.
“We are spending significant dollars on helping the consumers feel good about the market — so they get off the fence and back into the model homes.”
As of Tuesday, the site hadn’t been completed, but it does list articles as resources for consumers looking for more information.