The NAHB has released data

2009 was a big year for small:

“The era of easy money is over. You really have to think before you go out and decide you need that five-bedroom, five-bath home,” said Rose Quint, the NAHB’s assistant vice president for survey research. “Couple that with the energy [cost] concerns of consumers today and I think we will continue this trend.”

It reminds me of another “small movement,” dating back to 1959: the Volkswagen Beetle. Smart marketing touted the financial, practical and image-related benefits of owning small. But there was nothing small about that marketing approach – it translated to big sales.

As marketers in real estate, it’s our job to turn this current real estate trend toward small into something big.

Like Volkswagen, we need to package “small,” and make it appealing. Real estate marketers have been doing this for years by using words like “cozy,” in advertisements. We have to go beyond that.

Today small means power. Small means ownership. Small means freedom. Small means lower carbon footprint. Small is nimble, sane, sensible. Small, in terms of living space, can have tremendous caché if we market it properly.

For some developers, building smaller homes means the hope of turning a profit on new construction – even in this economy, when standing inventory makes such a thing seem impossible. That’s a perfect example of turning the trend toward small into something big.

As marketers and real estate consultants, it’s not enough to merely embrace the trend. We have to harness its power and translate it into better products, smarter marketing and more sales. That’s exactly the kind of challenge we love at Garrison Partners.

Size may not matter as much right now. But sales still do.

GB