Community Associations Institute (CAI), the organization that ‘pretends’ it helps HOA homeowners while in reality it’s a referral agency for lawyers, managers and others who insist that fines, lawsuits, liens and foreclosures are good things, is showing some ‘distressing’ news to HOA insiders. It’s a graph that shows a slowing in the growth of people living in Homeowners Associations.
There’s an obvious reason to like this graph. HOAs have done themselves no favors by getting aggressive against homeowners they don’t like. As many reading this forum know, many HOAs have turned neighborhoods into seething battlegrounds where neighbor fears neighbor, and the act of being friendly can get you sued.
Population in this country is growing, but HOAs are losing their enthusiasts. To me, this graph says that more and more prospective homeowners are telling Realtors, “Do not show me ANYTHING in an HOA!”
Here is another concept to consider, from a business point of view. (Since CAI and industry “experts” continue to insist HOAs are, after all, BUSINESS)
It is call the Product life Cycle
http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/
It would appear that HOAs have reached the maturity stage, on the precipice of decline.
There’s just one little complication: government intereference. The fact that so many planning commissions have more or less mandated HOAs has artificially manipulated the market in many locations so as to offer no real choice for home buyers except for HOAs!
It looks like many HOAs and COAs may have to Evolve or Dissolve.
I hope “what goes up must come down” applies in the case of HOAs. Actually, there is no hope here, it’s going to happen. I won’t be around in 42 years to see the graph, but I sure hope the 2056 graph has a flat line lower than the 1970 percentage.
How has the housing market collapse that began in 2006 affected those numbers?