Attendees of the 2009 HBA Home Show, which runs from Friday, February 6 through Sunday, February 8, will have an opportunity to visit with more than 240 exhibitors in 480 booths at the Springfield Expo Center, 635 E. St. Louis St. “We’ve been very pleased with the response from vendors. They feel the show is effective as a direct marketing tool and well worth their investment of dollars and time. Thankfully, the custom building market remains healthy here,” Morrow said. “The fact that our national leaders are starting to communicate that a successful stimulus plan must have a component that ensures a healthy housing and residential construction market is also reassuring to the industry and the public.”
Morrow believes there’s considerable evidence that the Springfield area may be ripe with pent-up housing demand. “Our recent local market research demonstrates that, unlike many markets around the country, our builders here did not attempt to ‘build through’ the slow down. They stopped building new spec homes. We don’t have the burden of being excessively overbuilt. Once we begin to see improvements in perceptions about the availability of credit and a more stable national economy, I think our region’s housing market will quickly heat up.”
One of the Show’s seminars deals with busting the notion that banks are not making loans. “You CAN Get a Loan,” will be offered by a panel of local lenders for those who seek advice about available financing options. “For those whose homeownership aspirations have been dampened or temporarily derailed by the housing and economic downturn—the people wondering if this is a good time to buy—the answer is simple: Yes,” said Morrow. “It can be a good time to buy, especially if you are a first-time home buyer or if you are ‘trading up’ in size and value in a home.”
Today’s market, coupled with a temporary tax credit for first-time home buyers and near-record low mortgage interest rates, provides an unprecedented window of opportunity for prospective home buyers. In fact, there may never be another buyer’s market as good as today’s. With high energy costs near the top of consumer concerns, it’s good to know that new homes today are more energy- and resource-efficient than ever before. Through the use of new materials and construction techniques, today’s homes are built twice as energy efficient as new homes a generation ago, making them more affordable to own and operate.
Morrow added that the free seminars offered to attendees this year cover everything from what’s hot in home design to which home improvement projects actually add the most value to your home. “New this year, we also have educational demonstrations. These interactive presentations will be located in the upstairs lobby area,” he said. Download the full news release with Seminar and Demonstration schedules as well as a list of vendors by clicking here.