For the second blog in my Series of Change I decided to address one of the more positive effects of the recent recession: the return of the neighborhood.  In 1994 country singer Tracy Lawrence released a catchy yet poignant song titled If The World Had a Front Porch.  The lyrics include:

“If the world had a front porch like we did back then
We’d still have our problems but we’d all be friends
Treatin’ your neighbor like he’s your next of kin
Wouldn’t be gone with the wind
If the world had a front porch like we did back then”

Buddy

Depending on your next of kin this could be a good thing or a bad thing (Haha!).  But seriously, gone are the days of workaholics, lavish trips, dining out and, most importantly, keeping to yourself.  As the boomers age and the new generation of X-er’s, Y-er’s and New Millenniums choose a different lifestyle, the return of the front porch (or desire of having a front porch) is significant.  I have noticed in my neighborhood the return of getting to know our neighbors, their children, pets and hobbies.  We are blessed with walking trails, greenspace and friendly people. What we are lacking are large, expansive porches where we can sit and socialize in a relaxed atmosphere.  My dog, Buddy would like nothing better than to sit with me on a front porch and watch the world go by. In fact, he doesn’t like to go into the backyard.  The backyard that I selected on which to build my home with his needs in mind so that he would have a place to play, thoughtfully positioned so we could enjoy the morning sun and the evening shade.  The backyard that I fenced and landscaped and religiously mow so that he could romp and explore to his hearts content…but to no avail.  If I sit out back and prop the door open (so that my precious angel can go in and out at his pleasure) he always goes back into the house after about 2-3 minutes and looks out the front door.  After all, there’s no action in the backyard…only his boring Mom reading a magazine and looking out over his carefully manicured lawn.  All the fun is out front where he can meet and greet the neighbors, growl at and traumatize other dogs and see what is happening in the world.

I believe we are all harkening back to a gentler time when we had a sense of community and belonging.  Wouldn’t we all love to have a front porch?  And not some narrow 3′ porch…we need a porch where we can place comfortable chairs or even a porch swing and sit and rock and share and enjoy. Jeremy Conaway from RECON Intelligence Services recently shared his findings on the new consumer with local real estate Brokers in our association.  According to Jeremy the new consumer is relationship oriented with an emphasis on Self, Family and Friends, Colleagues and Neighbors and Citizens and Markets. It’s all about relationships and the most important relationships are those you have at home. Spring is here and with it comes new life, a new outlook and a new and hopefully recovering economy.  It’s a new day – enjoy it in one of the many Bluegrass homes for sale!

In the Spring of 2008 Gale Fulton and I attended the REAL Trends “Gathering of the Eagles” conference in Colorado as part of the Leadership Team for the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors.  At the time, little did we know of the challenges our industry would face over the next 2 years. One comment that resonated with both Gale and I was the quote from one of the speakers that “our industry is going through a change that, once we get on the other side, will be totally different from what we know now”.  He must have possessed a crystal ball because he was right on the money. I am going to do a series of blogs that address some of the changes we have witnessed and are now experiencing, the first of which is the change of the consumer mindset regarding their “wants” vs. “needs”.

Find A Property

We recently attended a Broker Forum which featured Jeremy Conaway of RECON Intelligence Services.  Jeremy travels extensively and consults with many Realtor associations around the country.  Much of Jeremy’s focus was on the differences between the generations and their hopes and dreams.  According to Jeremy the baby-boomers focus was on work, work, work, accumulation of wealth and the status of owning a large home and nice car.  They didn’t have a lot of time to focus on family because they were so busy working to support their idea of the American Dream.  The X-er’s and Y-er’s and New Millenniums are more focused on quality of life and enjoyment of their friends and family. They don’t feel the need to own a big home in a gated community.  They can get by on much less with regards to housing and prefer to spend their money on travel, community service and protecting the environment.  This is our new buyer and as real estate practitioners it is our responsibility to adapt to their way of thinking and doing business rather than attempting to force them into our antiquated and old school way of doing business.

One book you may want to read on the subject is “More Not So Big Solutions for your Home” by Sarah Susanka.  Sarah is an architect and advocate of homes that are smaller, practically and efficiently designed, yet still beautiful and comfortable according to Inman News columnist Tara-Nicholle Nelson.  Sarah compartmentalizes her book into several interesting chapters such as “By Design”, “Room by Room”, “Attention to Detail” while focusing the last half of her book on “Making it Personal” using practical and creative methods to create space and design solutions for the smaller home.

Our industry has never been more exciting with new methods, new consumers and fresh life coming into our lives after the demoralizing market we have recently endured.  Embrace new technology, read (or listen to podcasts) of books such as Sarah’s that educate us on the new consumer and move forward into a fuller life balancing your business and personal life.  It’s a great day! If you’re interested in purchasing a home and great place to start is our Find A Property.