Fri, Nov 21, 2008
 Vaughn Smith tests a Tempur-Pedic bed on display at the Bedmart booth during opening day of the SAHBA Home And Garden Show at the Tucson Convention Center. The show is open today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Some vendors said the number of people attending has dropped from previous years. Jeffry Scott / Arizona Daily Star
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SOUTHERN ARIZONA ENDODONTICS I NSURANCE PROCESSOR Health Care Carondelet Foothills Surgery Pre-Op Nurse General Prestige Maintenance USA Area Manager Education Yavapai College Teachers Technical Yavapai College Analyst Banner Programmer Retail TOTAL WINE & MORE WINE TEAM MEMBERS, CASHIER & STOCK MEMEBERS Dental Apache Dental Porcelain Techs BusinessAs economy falters, many go to SAHBA home show just to lookArizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.11.2008
The Southern Arizona Home Builders Association 37th Annual Home and Garden Show began yesterday, but the mood was cautious with attendance down and the troubled economy looming in the background.
People navigated a labyrinth of booths showcasing spas, solar panels and slot machines — just to name a few — and some vendors noticed a marked decline in attendance from past years on the first day of the three-day show.
Sales for booth space at the event hit 92 to 93 percent, higher than expected, but this year was the first time in at least 10 years the show hasn't sold out, according to Roger Yohem, vice president off SAHBA.
Chuck Dusa, a salesman for The Specialists audio and electronics company, said he heard a lot of comments along the lines of "I can't afford it right now, but we would like to."
"People still want things, but they can't afford it — I can't wait for this economy to be over with," Dusa said.
People are buying less because they usually finance home improvements with home equity loans, and people don't have a lot of cash, said Kurt Hoel, a sales consultant for AZ Block.
Hoel estimated attendance is down by about one-third this year, and that didn't surprise him.
"People have been cautious, but they're still getting ideas and still dreaming — that's not gone away," said Dave Devine, manager of Connelly Billiards.
Financial institutions came to reassure people and answer questions about the market.
Nova Home Loans had a sign at its booth saying, "Yes! we are funding loans."
"Nova's still here because we didn't get into the worst of the loans," said Bill Scharf, a senior loan officer at Nova.
Scharf also noticed a 30 percent decline in foot traffic at the show.
Vantage West Credit Union's booth was doing well Friday because people wanted to know where to put their money, said Socorro Garcia, an employee of Vantage West.
"Everybody wants to see if we're stable, and some people want to switch to a credit union because you haven't seen credit unions in the news," Garcia said. "We're doing pretty well."
Even Merrill Lynch was there, giving away a $250 gift certificate for The Home Depot.
The stock market and housing crisis dominated conversation at the show as the stock market continued to fall throughout the day.
People were checking their phones every minute to check the stock market, noticed Robin Herman, an employee of Brett Interiors.
"When everyone had a house, they wanted to fix it up, but it's hard to fix houses when people are losing their homes," said Arthur Rodriguez, an employee of Olander's Window Replacement.
Frugality also was a prevailing theme for those who attended Friday's show.
Bob Rue, a retiree, said the economy is so bad that he is going to postpone $90,000 worth of repairs to his home and instead will focus on small projects.
"You have to hold on and not impulse-buy," attendee Betty Lee said.
Some people like Paul Reiser came just to look. He said he is watching all of his purchases and only spends on necessities.
However, some vendors said they saw increased sales at the show. Kevin Banull of TLC Security said the home-security business has been booming lately because when the market goes bad, his sales go up.
"People look at the market and they want to protect what's theirs," he said.
Follow the latest news on the local real-estate market at www.azstarbiz.com
● Contact NASA Space Grant intern Dan Sullivan at 573-4237 or at dsullivan@azstarnet.com.
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