Ask the Experts – Industry Growth

I see technology becoming even more integrated into the industry this year. Ten years ago, we may have had cellphones with average cameras. Today, we are completely mobile on the jobsite. If there is an issue with the project, we can quickly snap a high-quality picture with our smartphones, send it to the subcontractors or developers, and immediately have a conference call to reach a resolution. We had laptops before, but no remote internet access. Now, we keep all of our files on a cloud-based server, making them accessible from anywhere, at any time. Essentially, our projects in the Northeast are just as easy to manage as those within Jacksonville, Florida, where we are headquartered. I believe the use of technology will only continue to grow.

There is a change taking place with contractor marketing. For years, contractors initially focused on short-term objectives for leads, working solely with companies like Angie’s List, Home Advisor, Porch and countless others. So many contractors are now learning that they need their own website to help them in two ways:

• To portray the image of the company that they want their customers to see
• To generate leads using words, testimonials, images and videos for search engines to drive traffic to the company’s site.

I believe the construction sector that will see the largest growth this year is the building of upscale senior housing and or assisted living properties. With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 everyday, they are the largest age group and are on the edge of retiring or have already retired. Also, this group has a larger amount of disposable income for retirement, representing more than 70 percent of financial assets in the United States. Assisted living is already comprising three-fourths of new construction in the top 10 metro markets. Baby boomers are looking to retire in communities that remind them more of homes than institutions. In order to meet this demand, many senior communities are leaning toward upscale environments and services.