I’m following up on a previous post about David Oringulph (Legend Homes) doing an interview in the Oregonian where he states: “There’s really nothing wrong with the housing market from the standpoint of economics….”.
I really took an exception to his line of thinking and was in complete disagreement of his “feel sorry for me” attitude. And as if helping prove my point…
Fast forward 45 days and now the “big-box” builder Roger Pollock (Buena Vista Homes – pictured right) is sending out letters to past clients who bought a home from his company about the MEGA house auction planned for December 15-16th, to the likes the Portland Metro area has never seen. Sure this type of action is the norm in Las Vegas or the burbs of Phoenix, but here in River City?
This may well be the largest riches-to-rags story on the planet. In the Fall of 2006 Buena Vista Homes was hailed (largely self-promotion) as the largest home builder in Oregon having “pulled down” 303 permits in the first 10months. In addition, “Builder Magazine” named Buena Vista the fastest growing builder in the United States with an amazing growth rate of 162.47 percent. Now we’re seeing the “signs” of over building and developers are panicked to sell anything maybe David Oringulph would like to retract his “the media is the problem” statement?
Then came “THE LETTER”…
Imagine getting a letter from Roger Pollock telling you they have decided to auction the remaining homes in your cul-d-sac and the starting bid is going to be $189k less than what you just paid 6 months ago. WTF?!!
Is there no shame from these predatory builders? How do they ignore customer service, relationships with past clients, further driving prices down and exacerbate the home bubble mentality in an already bleeding market? This is going to be fascinating to watch.
UPDATE (DEC 17th): Auction sold 141 homes at a total of $65 million in sales over the 2-day period. Average per home is nearly $461K. None of the Bend homes were auctioned. So, is Pollock a Marketing Genius or were people drawn-to-the-light?
And does he really know how to party like a “Rock Star”?
Likely a marketing ploy but certainly one that sends a powerful message that will make just about everyone but the builder feel uneasy. I can say I’m happy that I’m not a Realtor who helped a client buy one of these homes 6 months ago. Yes, It’s not my fault and I’m not the cause, but I can gaurantee that a person who bought 6 months ago and may be looking at a neighbor who could be in the same home for $100k less, is hating just about everyone who was involved with the transaction. This is certainly one to watch play out!
what the f___! i didnt catch the journalist’s name…. what a retard…. what is a builder to do when the market is crashing??? a home is only worth what the market is willing to pay… simple as that…. it doesnt matter if your house has diamond studded toilet seats…. if knowone is buying it, its worthless…. customer service? come on! we are in a society of denial….. things are going to get really bad. really bad. we are in for quite a recession…. mr. pollock is no dumby, and believe me, he’s in no fear of rags. fast forward a year; builders like him will kick themselves for not taking the blow roger is willing to take now before it gets worse…. like him or hate him… hes a damn good business man… were all just jealous…. sick how we hate to see others prosper and love to anticipate a fall…. especially when its a self confident guy who partied his ass off years ago, and still rose to the top. lets just face it; the guy is a stud…. he lives like a gad damn rock star…
@ sedaris – I provided a link to the previous post, but the reporter is Ryan Frank of the Oregonian.
Thx for stopping by even though we don’t share the views of “Rock Star” Pollock.
SEDARIS…. “retard”… wow time for you to expand your vocabulary.
http://www.newhomesale.org
I agree with “sedaris” anyone who knows the guy understands what a fking genious he is. And if all you can do is point your finger waaaa waaaa as opposed to stepping up and putting your balls on the line then not only are you a bitch, but a pussy 2!!
Kudos for Roger Pollock.
I met him recently and had the chance to speak with him. I was happy to hear that things are progressing for him, parties are coming to the table to work with him. Had they not, then I trust his savvy as a businessman to shove the baggage where it belongs.
There is never one party to blame for the financial melt down that our government was formed to regulate, maintain checks and balances. Our circumstances are a combined failure over far too many years thru neglect and incompetencies.