Ahead of the Curve

14 Jan 2011 2 Comments

by John Amardeil in Case Studies, Trends

One of the challenges of BAM’s business is helping our clients reach the registrants for their new home communities in an effective and expeditious fashion. We want to have valuable communications with our registrants: giving them the info they want, the way they want to receive it. Recently, we used two new techniques to revolutionize how we communicate.

1.  Online Appointment Booking


BAM sent out an eblast inviting Pathways’ registrants to an exclusive preview event for Pathways in Caledon East. It led them to a website (see screenshot above) where they could see available appointment times and book one for themselves. When people booked an appointment, an automatic email was sent to them confirming their appointment time and telling them how to get to the venue and how to cancel their appointment if necessary.

Similar to convenient services like OpenTable and other online appointment booking services such as retail services for hair stylists and for purchasing movie tickets, this system benefitted both the builder and the public. We got to control and limit the number of people attending our event without the tedious task of manually managing an RSVP list. Registrants got to book their appointment quickly and easily, and at any time of the day or night.

2. Text Messaging Campaign

Even those who don’t have email on their phones often utilize at least their texting feature. According to Pew Research Center’s 2010 Mobile Access Survey, one of the two mobile activities people do the most is sending or receiving text messages (72%).

Launching a SMS (i.e. text messaging) campaign for the same Pathways event gave us an extra medium to communicate with registrants who wished to be contacted in this way. Being able to contact registrants via text allowed us to contact them on the fly, instead of the slower medium of email that we usually use. This was extremely useful when, for example, our Limited Release Blueprint Preview sold out; we were able to notify people who had appointments booked later in the day that the lots available had sold, and warn people that they could still come to their appointment but would be unable to purchase a home.

Text messaging also has the benefits of being:

–  Nearly impossible to miss (vs. email, which often ends up in your junk folder)

– Instant and available to you wherever you are

– Personal

BAM continues to innovate with new ways to engage and communicate with people. It’s a modern, mobile world, and we are constantly adapting to this world.

More Torontonians moving to Satellite Towns & Cities

21 Oct 2010 1 Comment

by John Amardeil in Activities, Trends Tags: , , , , , ,

Urban sprawl is an ever growing issue in Toronto, but don’t tell that to people buying homes in Brampton, Mississauga and Georgetown. There are two groups of people who are buying homes in these regions:

  • Group A: Moving there because homes in Toronto are too expensive and they’ve decided it would be more economical to commute to work.
  • Group B: They found work in Brampton, Mississauga or Georgetown, areas which have been seeing huge growth during the last 2 decades, and they want to buy homes closer to their workplace.

As time goes by however Group B keeps getting bigger and bigger. According to Greg Kuenzig, a Toronto city planning consultant who recently moved to Brampton but now works overseas in London England, the number of people moving and working in satellite cities will eventually reach a point that it is arguably no longer urban sprawl. It’s just a completely separate city, with its own economy and its own local politics, with little connection to the overflowing metropolis which spawned it.

Satellite Cities and Population shown in PinkSatellite Cities is a term used to describe smaller cities around larger metropolises that grow in independently and have their own downtown core, city council, etc. Examples: Mississauga, Brampton and Vaughan.

Let’s take Georgetown for example, a prime location for people looking to commute to Toronto because of the GO Station. According to a 2006 census the population of Georgetown had risen to 36,690, a 16.4% increase over a 10 year period. In more recent years the Brampton and Oakville region has seen an explosion of growth, which has sparked many local stores and franchises to open up (which brings in local jobs and even more people).

The new Weaver’s Mill townhome development in Georgetown is a sign of the times. It’s catering specifically to young singles and couples who are looking for townhomes. Compared to the $500,000 one might spend on a house in Brampton, the $289,990 for a townhome at Weaver’s Mill is well worth it. The price difference is huge. The concept is simple: Draw in the young people who are willing to commute to Toronto via the GO train, offer them the benefits of a small town but with the convenience of still being close to Toronto.

But eventually these young couples have children, which means the community has to grow to accommodate more people who set down roots and decide they don’t want to leave. Eventually Georgetown will become a small city in its own right.

In Canada urban sprawl is basically a necessity. We’re still a young country and our population density is a mere 9.27 people per square mile, one of the lowest population densities in the world. (The North American average is 32 people/square mile and the global average is 115.) Our country is under-populated and urban sprawl/the flourishing of communities is bound to happen in a country which has yet to reach its potential.

Will real estate buying become a social activity?

14 Oct 2010 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in In The Media, Trends Tags: , , , , , , ,

Facebook LogoAccording to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, real estate buying and
other major purchases could become a social activity like never before.
“Designing products around people will be universal… will not just be
Facebook,” says Zuckerberg. The founder of the world’s largest social
network believes we’re entering a new era of internet-based social
activity wherein the “default is social” and things like shopping for
big ticket items will be centered around people as opposed to the actual
things and objects they’re purchasing.

In other words, buying a home just might become more of a party, where
you invite friends and family to go with you to check out possible homes
to buy. It won’t be as much about the home as about the interaction of
multiple people and the “event” of home buying. I believe it’s always
been about more than just buying a home – it’s buying into a social
atmosphere, a community, a dream for a new life.

Zuckerberg believes that every industry will be affected by this social
effect, including the automotive industry, the fashion industry, and the
real estate industry. He explains that when speaking face-to-face we use
our knowledge about the person to assign value to what they’re saying.
Thus real estate advice from a friend or family member has more value
than advice from a stranger on the street, even if they’re giving you
the same advice.

Social NetworkingThis of course raises some interesting questions:

How large a role will social media play in real estate? Will everyone be buying a home online? Or it will it be more for the social butterflies?

Is social advice you get from friends more important than outside facts,
photos and information about the house you’re buying?

How will a merger of social media and real estate manifest itself?

We can imagine for example that people in the future might browse a
virtual representation of their future home (which has yet to be built)
and invite their Facebook and Twitter friends to browse the virtual copy
of the home as well, using virtual avatars. Using something similar to
Google Street View, they could also explore the neighbourhood and learn
more about the place they might be living.

Exciting ideas for BAM to consider as we develop marketing strategies
and advertising campaigns that will appeal to the next generation of
online users!

Toronto Housing Market is Sky High

31 Aug 2010 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in Trends Tags: , , ,

The Toronto housing market has never been as strong as it was the first half of 2010. For the first time ever, Toronto stands as number one in North America for new condo sales. In fact, Toronto is the second largest new home market in North America, second only to Houston, Texas.

The Star recently published an article about the impressive feats of our local housing market. There is no shortage of statistics to reveal Toronto as being the condo capital of North America. It is even predicted that by the end of the year, Toronto will be the hottest real estate market in North America. You can read the article here.

Housing Market Revolution: Solar Panels Getting Less Expensive

12 Aug 2010 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in Trends Tags: , , , , ,

Technology Review reports that solar panels are becoming cheap enough to become a major component of green energy. The cost of solar panels has dropped 40 percent in the last 18 months. Photovoltaic, or solar, electricity now costs about 15 cents per kilowatt-hour in the best sunlight. That’s only twice the cost of wholesale electricity and wind.

Solar panels are quickly becoming a reality in Ontario. They’re currently being installed on some of Empire’s new homes, allowing homeowners to sell the excess energy they don’t need from solar panels back to the grid system.

With the government of Ontario’s push for green energy and new advances in technology, solar panels for homes could very well soon be the norm.

You can read the article from Technology Review here.

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