Hanley Wood Provides Valuable Market Intelligence to Housing, Construction Industries

By Barbara Lewis, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

In today's housing and construction climate, the data gathered at the Hacienda office of Hanley Wood Market Intelligence is more valuable than ever before. From their office at 5674 Stoneridge Drive, Suite 208, a team of ten real estate specialists offers new residential housing information to developers, financial institutions, building product manufacturers and suppliers. That critical information enables recipients to plan strategically and avoid costly mistakes.

"We visit residential subdivisions to collect information about sales, pricing, features and amenities," explains Regional Director Rick Baldonado. "For example, we find out what's selling, what's not, and who's buying; what the standard features are and what percentage of buyers choose upgrades; which amenities are the biggest selling points.

"With the data we provide, our clients can be confident that they are offering the right product at the right price in the right location. As you can imagine, there is no margin for error in our current housing environment. We provide our clients the information they need to mitigate risk and maximize returns."

Hanley Wood's clients include all the major public and private home builders, such as KB Homes, Pulte, Ryland, Signature Properties and Standard Pacific, as well as manufactures such as General Electric (GE) and suppliers such as Home Depot. Originally founded in 1996 as The Meyers Group, the organization was acquired by Hanley Wood four years ago and remained in Hacienda. "Most of the major home builders have offices in the East Bay," notes Baldonado, "and the accessibility of the Central Valley, Sacramento and San Jose from here is an important advantage for us."

Though its Hacienda office is dedicated to market intelligence, Hanley Wood serves the real estate industry in many other ways as well. Founded in 1976 by Michael J. Hanley and Michael M. Wood, the company began in Washington, D.C. as a publisher that served the building and construction industries. Today, it is a $250 million media company with four operating divisions that, in addition to marketing solutions, produce magazines such as Builder, Building Products, Custom Home and Residential Architect as well as websites, trade shows and industry-related events. It is also North America's leading publisher of home plans. In 2005, Hanley Wood was acquired by JP Morgan Partners, representing the second largest business-to-business media deal in United States history to date.

"The market intelligence we offer is critical to a vast variety of businesses in addition to those that are building and construction related," adds Baldonado. "Whether a telecommunications company, appliance designer and manufacturer, grocery or retail store, or restaurant chain, they all need to know where the new residential growth is happening as well as the demographics of the home buyers in terms of income, preferences, age, etc. All of that data impacts and drives their businesses. To learn about the services we offer, we welcome interested businesses to visit our website at www.hanleywood.com."

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