Builder - September 2008 - (Page 152) LASTWORD “People prosper when they make a decision against the trend.” PAT NEAL OWNER NEAL COMMUNITIES LAKEWOOD RANCH, FLA. P at Neal is no stranger to bad housing markets. In the 1974–1975 recession, for example, the owner of Lakewood Ranch, Fla.–based Neal Communities watched his sales plunge from 50 a year to six. He learned a lot of lessons that have served him well including owning land free and clear, building strong teams, having non-recourse debt “when you can,” and creating a culture of continuous improvement. But his main strategy for surviving the ’70s downturn—and every one since— hinged on introducing value-priced houses to jumpstart sales. “Building a smaller, less complicated house is part of the ebb and flow of the housing cycle,” Neal says. “Those are the circumstances we bargained for as builders … . People prosper when they make a decision against the trend.”—Pat Curry Q: What is it about a difficult housing market that sparks innovation? mother reality is we to make profit. I A: Necessity is thehomes atofainvention.t.The businessnowdecisionnewhavelayingaoff astaffwould have a long-term investment in people. The better [than ] is to create less-expensive low profi People can buy a home at price I have told you three years ago was not in the cards. Q: What is most important for builders to do to survive this downturn? are tough times for people It’s easy feel like this is bad luck. But A: Theseandwe arethe team. Our job isintoour business.everykeeptoourmatterup andthe pricesmileI’ve whatever as business managers, it’s our job to chins keep a on our faces lead make sales day, no what is. been surprised by some of my friends who have taken their bones and gone home. When they come back, I’ll have a team that’s way down the field and they’ll be fighting to work back up to the market share they used to have. Q: What’s your next innovation? We’re 1,080-square-foot cottage with a rear-loaded detached garage, A:of smaller,designing athat are 16 feet wide and as smallwhat wesquareisfeet.newintend ofand a newfor group of houses as 960 We to create a series smarter, more energy-efficient homes for think the world housing the next three years. Though we have been mostly a luxury builder, these will keep our machine going. W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM Herb Booth 152 ■ B U I LD E R sep t e m ber 2008 http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM
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