{"id":10318,"date":"2012-07-31T07:30:46","date_gmt":"2012-07-31T11:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/?p=10318"},"modified":"2013-07-30T22:25:09","modified_gmt":"2013-07-31T02:25:09","slug":"getting-by-getting-ahead-lakes-region-home-builder-adapts-to-anemic-high-end-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/31\/getting-by-getting-ahead-lakes-region-home-builder-adapts-to-anemic-high-end-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting By, Getting Ahead: Lakes Region Home Builder Adapts To Anemic High-End Market"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-10318 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/31\/getting-by-getting-ahead-lakes-region-home-builder-adapts-to-anemic-high-end-market\/img_1421\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1421-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-11062\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1421-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1421-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1421-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-11062'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;I started building in the speculative market in 1987.  My grandparents owned some property up here and decided that they wanted to sell it,&#8221; says home builder Joe Skiffington.  &#8220;And I was doing renovations and construction in the Boston area.  I came up to the lake and I said, you know, I wonder what selling vacation homes would be like?  So I built a couple of them on spec.  These were $79,900, so a far cry from what we&#8217;re doing today.  But the process was fun.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/31\/getting-by-getting-ahead-lakes-region-home-builder-adapts-to-anemic-high-end-market\/img_1424\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1424-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-10319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1424-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1424-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1424-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-10319'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;It&#8217;s definitely gotten expensive.  When we started lakefront construction&#8211;the first lakefront home I built was in 1991 or &#8217;92&#8211;the lot was about $100,000, and construction cost was about $175,000, and we sold it for, I think, $309,000,&#8221; Skiffington says.  &#8220;That was 20 years ago.  Today, an entry-level product is going to be somewhere in the range of $1.8 million to $2 million to buy a new home, or have a home built on Lake Winnipesaukee.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/31\/getting-by-getting-ahead-lakes-region-home-builder-adapts-to-anemic-high-end-market\/img_1433\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1433-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-10321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1433-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1433-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1433-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-10321'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;I think it was a bubble in 2006 and 2007.  I mean, it was just so busy, we were building seven of these $3 million to $4 million houses a year, and they were selling faster than we could build them,&#8221; Skiffington says.  &#8220;People ask me, &#8216;When do you think it will be like it was in 2006 and 2007 again?&#8217; And I say, &#8216;I really hope it doesn&#8217;t.'&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/31\/getting-by-getting-ahead-lakes-region-home-builder-adapts-to-anemic-high-end-market\/img_1444\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1444-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-10323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1444-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1444-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/IMG_1444-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-10323'>\n\t\t\t\t&#8220;A lot of people got into the business because they felt they just couldn&#8217;t lose,&#8221; Skiffington says.  &#8220;When non-builders start building spec houses, it becomes a problem.  There were too many realtors, too many builders, and then what happens is the bubble bursts and nobody makes money and everybody gets hurt.  I&#8217;d like to see us maintain some sort of normalcy in a trend where price escalation is at a minimum.&#8221;\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As part of our weekly \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/voices\/\">Getting By, Getting Ahead<\/a>\u201d series, StateImpact is traveling across New Hampshire, gathering personal stories from the people behind the economy.\u00a0 In our sixth installment, we talk with a Lakes Region home builder.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____<\/p>\n<p>Summer is boom time on the banks of Lake Winnipesaukee.\u00a0 These are the months when the region\u2019s <a title=\"The Temperamental Economics Of Tourism\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/tag\/tourism\/\" target=\"_blank\">tourist<\/a>\u00a0towns double or even triple in size as wealthy vacation home owners settle in for the season. But at the moment, one of these homes \u2014 a 7,000 square foot mini-mansion on Governor\u2019s Island \u2014 remains empty.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Skiffington Homes\" href=\"http:\/\/www.skiffingtonhomes.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Joe Skiffington\u2019s company<\/a> built this home back in 2008. \u00a0Skiffington, 48, is a big man with a dark goatee and an easy smile. He&#8217;s\u00a0part of a small community of <a title=\"How The Lakes Region Economy Works\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/tag\/lakes-region\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lakes Region<\/a> developers who build high-end vacation houses \u2014\u00a0places with 22-foot high vaulted ceilings, exposed pine beams, basement saunas and amazing guest bedrooms. \u00a0Upstairs, Skiffington shows off one of these guest rooms.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has great lakefront views, 17 by 17 is the size of the bedroom, two walk-in closets,&#8221; Skiffington announces.\u00a0 The place easily fits a king size bed, two over-sized nightstands and a TV, with enough room to spare to fit a giant guest bathroom.<\/p>\n<p>It feel less a lake house than a lake <em>palace<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F54639019%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-3vE4e&amp;show_artwork=true&amp;secret_url=true\" height=\"166\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Skiffington is hoping to sell this house for $2.7 million. But through 70 showings over the past four years, it has remained vacant. \u00a0Some customers have ordered new homes from Skiffington based on walking through this house, but no one has snapped up the house itself.\u00a0 Skiffington built the house &#8220;on spec.\u201d \u00a0That means he bought the land and built the home under the assumption that he could quickly unload it.\u00a0 It\u2019s a high-risk venture, but when the economy is booming as was in the middle of the last decade, it&#8217;s a high-profit venture as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c2003, &#8217;04, &#8217;05, &#8217;06 and &#8217;07 and even into 2008, we were very busy building between four and seven spec houses a year,&#8221; Skiffington says. The homes ranged in price from\u00a0$2 million to $6 million.\u00a0Demand was so strong that Skiffington expanded his crew to 19 people.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/30\/lakes-region-snapshot-high-end-vacation-homes-impact-year-round-economy\/\">Lakes Region Snapshot: High-End Vacation Homes Impact Year-Round Economy<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/30\/preview-tomorrows-getting-by-getting-ahead-story-look-at-high-end-homebuilding-in-a-lackluster-market\/\">Preview: Tomorrow&#8217;s &#8220;Getting By, Getting Ahead&#8221; Looks At High-End Homebuilding In A Lackluster Market<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2011\/09\/16\/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-vacation-home-market-a-realtors-perspective\/\">What You Need To Know About The Vacation Home Market: A Realtor\u2019s Perspective<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2011\/10\/05\/are-second-homeowners-the-next-wave-of-new-hampshires-silver-tsunami\/\">Are Second Homeowners The Next Wave Of New Hampshire\u2019s \u201cSilver Tsunami?\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2011\/11\/22\/how-much-do-vacation-homes-contribute-to-nhs-economy\/\">How Much Do Vacation Homes Contribute To NH\u2019s Economy?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2011\/08\/4803958_78225085b5-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/vacation-homes\/\">Why NH\u2019s A First Choice For Second Homeowners<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2011\/07\/2621837982_a88e536ab8-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/lakes-region\/\">How The Lakes Region Economy Works<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/103657967_3b304d2c94_z.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/getting-by-getting-ahead\/\">Catch Up On Our Series, \u201cGetting By, Getting Ahead\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>But by 2009, things started to sour.\u00a0 Wealthy executives from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York started getting skittish about buying expensive <a title=\"Why NH's A First Choice For Second Homeowners\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/tag\/vacation-homes\/http:\/\/\" target=\"_blank\">vacation homes<\/a>. Skiffington had to lay off a couple workers as things slowed down.<\/p>\n<p>But he is in better shape than some of his competitors.\u00a0 He has only one spec house he\u2019s trying to unload.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of <a title=\"Lakes Region Snapshot: High-End Vacation Homes Impact Year-Round Economy\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/07\/30\/lakes-region-snapshot-high-end-vacation-homes-impact-year-round-economy\/\" target=\"_blank\">nearly 100 high-end homes<\/a> with \u201cFor Sale\u201d signs dotting the lake shore. Last year, the market only saw about 20 sales of homes in this price category. \u00a0At that rate, it will take at least four years to clear out the bulk of this inventory.<\/p>\n<p>To stay afloat, Skiffington has mostly switched gears to general contracting.\u00a0 Rather than anticipate the home someone <em>might<\/em> want in a speculative market, he is simply taking orders to build or renovate high-end houses.\u00a0 General contracting is far less risky than building on spec, but it&#8217;s also far less profitable. Builders only profit on the labor itself.\u00a0 And the lackluster market has even pushed down those profits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t like going from a profit margin that you\u2019re comfortable with to a profit margin that\u2019s much less,&#8221; Skiffington says.\u00a0 &#8220;But I think we\u2019re making it through.\u00a0 We\u2019ve had to be more competitive on our general contracting prices, by far.\u00a0 The profit percentage is cut in half of what it would normally be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although there were only a handful of developers involved even at the height of the market, they played an important role in the Lakes Region economy.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for one-third or even half of the homes in a town to be seasonal.\u00a0 The bulk of jobs here are in the service industry, catering to tourists and the very wealthy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"module image left\" style=\"width: 250px;\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/voices\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full\" title=\"Getting By, Getting Ahead\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2012\/07\/voices-promo.png\" width=\"250\" height=\"247\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Listen to voices of New Hampshire\u2019s economy and share your story in an <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/voices\/\">interactive audio experience \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s all they do after we sell them a house, is spend,&#8221; Skiffington says.\u00a0&#8220;I\u2019ve been told by different customers that they\u2019ll spend anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000 per year to maintain the house, real estate taxes, then use of local services,\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s another thing that becomes clear talking to Skiffington.\u00a0 He really knows his customers.\u00a0 He understands why the market has slowed, and that he needs to adapt for the time being.\u00a0 &#8220;If a typical client had a $50 million portfolio in 2007, and in 2008 it was $25 million, he lost half his net worth?!&#8221; Skiffington says.\u00a0&#8220;That person is not going to be inclined to go out and buy a second home, even though he&#8217;s still technically wealthy with that net worth.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And while there is still a glut in the market for high-end vacation homes in the region, Skiffington says there\u2019s nowhere else he would rather be building \u2014 or selling \u2014 homes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis asset, in my opinion, provides a heck of a lot more happiness,\u00a0 a heck of a lot more memories, a heck of a lot more smiles than wherever you took the money from, be it a stock fund or a bond fund or something else,&#8221; Skiffington says.\u00a0 &#8220;I always tell people, you know, put a price on teaching your grandson how to water ski.\u00a0 Try to put a price on that.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; As part of our weekly \u201cGetting By, Getting Ahead\u201d series, StateImpact is traveling across New Hampshire, gathering personal stories from the people behind the economy.\u00a0 In our sixth installment, we talk with a Lakes Region home builder. _____ Summer is boom time on the banks of Lake Winnipesaukee.\u00a0 These are the months [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":11062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[337,507,516,154],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}