Landscape Management, October 2013
S17 ment with the government Still the deflated housing market has caused remodels to take precedence over new builds Because of the economy people are deciding not to move and just stay at home and improve their houses whether its inside or outside says the president of the primarily residential design build company that has grown about 80 percent this year to 2 million in revenue It has affected us more so by clients deciding to save more and that may mean doing projects in phases vs all at once he adds Tom Canete owner of Canete Landscape and Canete Snow Management in Wayne N J agrees residential design build has been somewhat of a tougher sell recently than in the past In the early 2000s we were able to tell people we were booked for two to three months and theyve give us a deposit and get on the schedule he says Now because of the competition you cant tell them that You have to find ways to get that work done One strategy he says is splitting up crews to spread out experienced skilled workers among laborers so they can be on more jobs This tactic and others are working Canete who employs about 75 workers on the landscape side of his business plans to be up 25 percent to 35 percent this year over last year in his mostly residential design build division Consultant Bruce Wilson of the Wilson Oyler Group reports the very high end of the residential market is seeing some price sensitivity I think its an outcome of the recession that people in general have become more price conscious he says It used to be the higher end residential market was somewhat immune to pricing issues but now theyre much more price conscious LM Additional reporting by Sarah Pfledderer Asked only of companies who perform design build Numbers dont equal 100 due to rounding AT A GLANCE COSTS POSITIVE Some price consciousness remains no part of the market is immune from budget concerns anymore Consumer sentiment has improved in 2013 and landscape _ NEGATIVE professionals are taking notice OCTOBER 2013 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET PRICE TAGS RESIDENTIAL SERVICES AVERAGE PRICES REPORTED 2012 2013 CHANGE Maintenance price visit 4419 4721 7 Design build price job 14842 15454 4 Lawn care treatment price visit 6426 6863 7 Irrigation maintenance price hour 5568 5817 5 DESIGN BUILD BACKLOG LENGTHS One to two months 78 Three to six month 18 Seven to nine months Less than 1 Nine to 12 months 3 12 months 1 CUSTOMER RETENTION RATES Less than 50 5 50 59 1 60 69 4 70 79 6 80 89 31 90 100 55 Asked only of companies who perform recurring services Numbers dont equal 100 due to rounding
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