Real Estate Market Slumps, Showhomes Soars
The housing market is at an all-time low. Consumer confidence has plumetted. Sales are down in almost every industry and one company after another is laying off employees. Is any business immune to the downturn in the economy?
Showhomes, a nationally franchised home staging company based in Nashville, believes it is.
Since 1986, Showhomes has provided home staging services to over 25,000 homeowners of vacant homes for sale. Like many companies in the real estate industry, Showhomes posted huge gains in the housing boom. In 2004, at the height of the boom, Showhomes helped homeowners and their Realtors sell hundreds of homes faster and for higher prices. This success fueled two years of double-digit growth throughout the boom.
Unlike most companies in the real estate industry, Showhomes is experiencing double digit growth in the housing slump. Vacant houses, difficult to sell in the boom, are more in need of the home staging services Showhomes provides. With record numbers of vacant houses for sale on the market, Showhomes is in an enviable market position to provide much needed staging services nationwide. This year, Showhomes expects to post the second year of record growth in the sagging real estate market. When few homes are selling, homes staged by Showhomes are selling at brisk rates and in many markets; homes staged by Showhomes are selling in a fraction of the time most homes take to sell.
Sales success in the housing slump has fueled the sales of Showhomes franchises and the company expects to open double the twelve units it projected at the beginning of 2008. Buyers seeking business models that have a solid track record in both up and down markets are finding that Showhomes provides a ‘recession resistant’ business model unique in the world of franchising. Showhomes expects to keep expanding its franchise system from 40 units open in 2008 to 80 open in 2009.
