Housing Market Confidence Growing
by Josh Beasley, President, Honest Abe Log Homes
Confidence is a tricky quality. Too little of it leads to stagnation, while excess can give way to an arrogance that blurs reality. This holds true for my personal life, and it seems that it’s just as applicable elsewhere. The sweet spot is a confidence tempered with humility that generates positive momentum forward.
The housing economy and industry went through a level of growth that was unsustainable, and a crash lead directly to the stagnation of recent years. Thankfully, confidence is returning, and for Honest Abe, we are humbled to be in a great position to serve our customers.
It has been encouraging to see the activity and follow the news within the residential markets. That has provided us with confidence, which is further supported by improvements we have seen with our own eyes. We just spent a few days with many of our independent dealerships from across the country. It was obvious that they possess a renewed energy and focus. The dealers have model homes, events, ideas and the connection with local contractors that customers need.
Honest Abe has been reinvesting into our sales models in Tennessee, and we’re nearing the completion of a new model home in Crossville, Tenn.
The consultants staffed in those locations are eager to be a resource for customers. Our headquarters and manufacturing facility in Moss, Tenn., remains busier than it has been in years, and we still maintain a large inventory of timbers, reinforcing our stability in the market. I truly believe Honest Abe is positioned to help our customers better than any time in our recent past.
Looking outside of Honest Abe, confidence seems high as well. Though lending regulations still seem strict and tedious, many lenders are now very eager for our customers’ business. General contractors are busy, as well as subcontractors of various trades associated with new home construction.
With all of that said, some of the greatest encouragement we have received has come from our customers. They possess a reenergized confidence and are simply tired of waiting. It truly seems that everyone’s confidence has improved, aligned and carefully we are moving forward together. That’s our philosophy here. We aim to be a servant to our customer first, to be a resource, problem solver and to walk through the process at their speed, not ours.
With 35 years of experience, we’re confident we can help people get the beautiful log or timber frame home they’ve always wanted.
