The QR Code and the Construction Industry

Over the past year you’ve probably seen the QR code (Quick Response code) popping up all over the place, perhaps on a tube of toothpaste when brushing your teeth, or maybe on a billboard during your commute?  These trendy two-dimensional bar codes have infiltrated our living environment in clever and hilarious ways.  For instance, a team of English footballers shaved QR codes on their heads to encourage fans to scan and view their stats online.  It really makes one wonder what they used for the players with no hair, a Sharpie?

The QR code was initially created for the automotive industry to track cars on the assembly line. The technology was soon adopted by other industries in a number of creative ways.   In recent years, the rise of the smart phone has made the QR code a marketer’s new best friend: the gimmick that connects the mobile masses with their product.

Nonetheless, in spite of all the QR code hoopla, I still have yet to find a truly creative application within the construction industry.  Don’t get me wrong, there have been several utilitarian uses of the code. I found a recent example at a Parade of Homes where they printed the QR code in a brochure and linked it to Google maps to help guide people on the tour.  In another example, Home Depot has jumped on the bandwagon by putting QR codes on their plants to give customers some extra gardening tips. A useful idea, but it lacks originality and creativity and it probably won’t motivate thousands to flock to their local Home Depot.
 

The verdict is still out on whether QR codes will find a place within the construction industry.  In the meantime, now is the time to experiment with the QR code and the best part is you can generate the QR Code for free. 

Here's a list of QR Code ideas (from practical to impractical):


Business Cards
Email Signatures
Email newsletter sign ups
Trade show signage
On building permits
Name tags
On your company newsletter
T-shirts for construction crew
Construction equipment
Bumper stickers
Restaurant napkins
Coffee cups
For sale signs
Inside elevators
On your local waitress
Stickers
On a porta potty at the construction site
A tattoo


You get the idea...

Which general contractor is on top in the single family home market?

Which general contractor is building the most single family homes in your market area?  Click here to find out.  

 In this fragile housing economy it’s now more important than ever to keep in touch with building trends in your area.  Tracking building activity will help you reach the right people at exactly the right time.  At Construction Monitor we keep a close watch on building activity by gathering building permit data to help construction professionals keep on top of their competition. 

 

Check out who’s on top in the single family home market!

Happy Holidays!

The Construction Monitor Team

5 Reasons Why Manufacturers Should Target Owner-Builders

Search for owner-builder leads

Building or remodeling your own home is a complex process and often involves hiring a licensed general contractor to help oversee a skilled team for the project.  Nonetheless, some brave and creative souls decide to manage the project themselves and often fall below the radar of the manufacturer.

The owner-builder acts as a general contractor, hiring subs, carpenters, and all those necessary to finish the job. There are numerous reasons why a person might choose to embark on a building adventure without hiring a general contractor.  It could be they believe that the sweat equity will save them a pretty penny, perhaps they might be a control freak with an innate tendency to micromanage, or they may be wildly creative with their own impeccable taste.  Whatever the reason, the owner-builder is a niche market that manufacturers cannot afford to ignore.

Here are 5 good reasons why:

                                                                                  

1. Owner-builders will often build more expensive custom projects.

2. Owner-builders shop around more for building materials giving those who reach

   them first a strategic advantage.

3. Owner-builders generally don’t have pre-established contracts and relationships

   leaving the door open for new products and services.

4. People are, by nature, lazy, and if a manufacturer makes their services easily

   available to a prospect it may increase their chances of landing a job.

5.Owner-builders, who serve as their own “GC”, make all the key purchasing decisions.

Market Example: LA County

The Construction Monitor reports that in Los Angeles County, over 7,000 building permits were filed by owner-builders year-to-date. Additionally, over 10,000 owners filed a building permit (owners usually have hired a general contractor, but still make many of the purchasing decisions). This is nearly 20,000 owner-builder or owner leads available in the Los Angeles County alone.

At Construction Monitor we have thousands of up-to-date owner-builder and owner leads just waiting to be contacted.  Check out what’s available in your area at

Find out more at www.constructionmonitor.com.

Housing Market is Cautiously Optimistic

Whew... the housing market may be headed into the black...

In 2009 the market bottomed out, with residential building permits at their lowest in over 50 years. In the mean time, the construction industry has been on the front lines of the economic battlefield, with thousands of businesses struggling to keep in the fight. 

Yet… there is hope on the horizon.

After nearly 7 years of recession, construction professionals and industry insiders, report that the market is slowly stabilizing with an (0.6%) increase forecast for 2012. While this number is modest, it does reveal that the industry is finally headed in a positive direction.

Consumer confidence, however, is still on shaky ground. According to recent poll, conducted on Nov 7th, 2011 by the Wall Street Journal, only 25% of the respondents felt the economy would improve in the next 12 months, revealing that consumers are still hesitant to embrace an optimistic outlook. Compare this to a less recent CBS poll conducted on June 8th, 2011, which reported that 44% were optimistic about the economic outlook, and it is apparent that we have our work cut out for us.

What does all of this mean... things may be looking up for 2012!

Colorado Markets - Builder Statistics

Here is a market comparison for the four colorado markets we cover and the single family homes that are being permitted so far this year. the report shows the homes by builder for the year and also the details for the month of September.

For more information, statistics or custom reports, see our website...

https://www.constructionmonitor.com/

Enjoy.

Justin Harris

Business Development Director

Construction Monitor

10 Year Anniversary for Paul & Ginger

This month we celebrate the 10 year anniversary of our Puget Sound (Seattle) edition.

This is also a milestone for the two people who have handled the workload for this market over the last 10 years for data collection and data entry; Paul Silva and Ginger Dean.

Just a few facts about what's been accomplished and achieved in the last 10 years by these two:

Number of building permits gathered, edited & published: 283,573
Number of hours worked - each: 20,800
Number of times Paul has driven to and visited a city office: 26,000
Number of miles driven: 208,000
Number of cars worn out and replaced: 3
Number of digital cameras worn out and replaced: 4
Number of computers worn out and replaced: 5
Number of desk chairs worn out and replaced: 5
Number of computer keyboards worn out and replaced: 6
Number of manual keystrokes Ginger made to database the info: 51,043,140

A great big thanks to Paul & Ginger for their efforts and dedication week in and week out over the last 10 years!
Our data entry and data collection teams are the best.
Nobody does it better than Construction Monitor!

Justin Harris-Business Development-Construction Monitor

Dallas Construction Summary

Permit volume continues to surge ahead in the Dallas Texas market. 


Here is a free summary report for the 1st quarter of 2011 that shows a detailed breakdown of the different types of projects that were permitted and what cities and counties they are located in. It's a great way to see the "big picture" on the Dallas market. 


Click Here For The Report

Construction Monitor Website Updates

What's going on with the Construction Monitor Website?
You have probably noticed the new look and feel of our site. We have been updating and improving much of the site and features. We even have a new logo!


We are always trying to provide a better product for our customers, and so we're constantly working on improving and offering tools that fit the bill.
Here are a few new updates you might not have seen yet that we have been hard at work on. 


New Company Report
This isn't so much a new tool as it is a revamp of an old, barely seen, not very functional tool from our old website. The idea around this tool is to be able to find new companies, or companies first pulling permits in a given year. This is a great way to find new working relationships for your company.
This tool lets you just find the new companies, and reduce the amount of time you are spending looking through permit lists for new companies. You can put in ranges of weeks or narrow down to specific construction types to get really powerful lists. 
Want to know every new general contractor who has pulled a permit for a single family home or residential remodel in the first half of the year? The best way to do that is with "New Company Reports".


Simple Statistics
A free offering to all our customers, simple statistics lets you view construction statistics for any of our market areas, up to the first of the previous year (So if its half way through 2011, you will get back to 01/01/2010)
This lets you get snapshots on what is happening in any given area, even outside your current subscription.


New Project Leads
New Project Leads lets you view building permits as they are entered into our system, so you don't have to wait for the publication at the end of the week. The tool has some limitations such as displaying only 50 permits per page and fewer search categories, however we added an "Area" and "Construction Type" filter to the top that will let you modify and see more specific results. This is a very popular tool for those who just can't wait for the finished weekly publication.


Powersearch
Most of the updates to the Powersearch are ones you won't see, but we hope you take advantage of them anyway. First we've increased the speed of the tool and that allowed us to increase the record limit to 5,000 results per search.
The other updates are a little more hidden, but we think people will find them very useful. 
One option people have requested was a better way to do "multi-select" searches. We aren't yet able to provide that functionality in all the places we want, like construction types, but we have implemented it in some areas, such as Permit Description, City, and Zip Code. These all support putting in comma separated lists.


So say you want to find all permits in only Los Angeles, Irvine & Long Beach. 
You would put them in like this:  los angeles,irvine,long beach 
(avoid a space before or after a comma).


This is a great way to really drill down to just those permits you are looking for. We've also added additional sort options so you can view the results in the order or manner that works best for your needs. 

Company Video Project

After much work from everyone involved, we are happy to share the new company 
video. You will see a few of the people behind the company and the passion we have 
for what we do.  


Check it out on youtube by clicking the link below..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1LCIwxKz6I 

Digital Editions You Can View

We love this new digital reader, Issuu. It allows us to share our information in yet another way for our customers, prospective customers and interested minds in the construction industry.

 We have over 40 publications up there that you can check out right now.

Go here...  Digital Edition

And  please let us know if you like this feature.

Justin Harris
Business Development Director
Construction Monitor