A Tellico Villager visits the Toqua Golf Course driving range once a month and buys a bucket of balls to improve her golf swing. Another Villager visits the Yacht Club each month and purchases a beer. These golfing and imbibing experiences cost $3 or $4 monthly.
That’s the same amount each Village household paid in 2016 to support the community’s marketing/communications program. The household contribution in 2016 was $3.89 from the TVPOA monthly assessment, which totaled $46.66 annually.
The Tellico Village Marketing Team summarized the marketing program’s accomplishments at the recent Tellico Village Property Owners Association board meeting held at the Yacht Club. Much of the team’s presentation centered on the community’s improving real estate market.
In 2016, 363 existing homes and lots were sold across the community. Out of this number, 280 existing homes were purchased — the most units ever sold in Tellico Village. Residential sales were up 24 percent over 2015, which tied with the previous record sales year of existing homes in 2005. The momentum of 2015 carried into 2016 and, subsequently, has positioned 2017 for another healthy real estate year.
Over the past three years, Village property values have risen 10 to 12 percent. This increase represents at least a $35,000 raise in equity on the average $350,000 home. Property owners can now expect a fair price for one of their most valuable assets. For well-maintained and competitively priced homes, time on market has shrunk to 3.5 months from a housing crisis high of 8 months.
During 2016, there were 449 completed Discovery or day tours, which were up 23 percent over 2015. Day tours were popular in 2016 — with a 47 percent increase — with almost all of them coming from walk-ins at the Welcome Center. The tour program is critical to the success of the marketing effort. Last year, 64 percent of the 152 attributed marketing program sales had participated in the tour program. These 152 sales were up 49 percent versus 2015.
The Welcome Center has been a boon to the marketing program as it hosted 2,374 marketing visitors during the year. All Discovery tours commence at the Welcome Center, which numbered 898 people. The other 1,476 visitors were walk-ins. The center was opened in late September 2015. In 2014, only seven walk-in visitors found their way to the TVPOA offices at Chota Center.
The marketing team believes the Tellico Village brand is an asset. Like the community’s other assets — roads, clubhouses, golf courses, etc. — ongoing investment in the brand is required.
The total cost of the 2016 marketing/communications program was just under $400,000, with $120,000, or 30 percent, of those revenues coming from outside sources. These direct revenues came from local Realtors, builders, remodelers and advertisers who find the program attractive because of the high quality sales leads, website traffic exposure and access to Discovery program visitors.
The 2016 net marketing cost of $280,000 represents 1.71 percent of the total TVPOA budget of $16,331 million. Dividing the net cost of $280,000 by 6,000 Tellico Village assessment-paying property owners results in an annual contribution of $46.66, which equals the annual monthly purchase of a bucket balls or buying a Yacht Club beer.
