80 hard contracts? not too bad, huh?
this is actually an interesting article with some interesting data.
in particular, i find the foreign investor conversation interesting for atlanta.
IVANKA MARKETS TRUMP ATLANTA
By JULIE B. HAIRSTON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/30/07
Just four days after joining the Trump Organization in 2005, Ivanka Trump flew to Dubai to join in negotiations for a luxury hotel and condominium project.
Soon after, she began meeting with Atlanta-based Wood Partners for the Trump Towers Atlanta project poised to rise on West Peachtree Street behind the High Museum of Art.
Amid gloomy news of the housing slump and a Wall Street Journal report that some Trump projects are struggling, the Wharton School of Finance graduate, now 26, flew to Atlanta Wednesday to christen Trump's new Midtown sales center and reaffirm the company's faith in the project.
Between posing for photos and greeting prospective buyers, the young Trump vice president for development and acquisitions paused to talk about her vision for the company, the special challenges of working in a family business, and Atlanta's prospects as an international city.
Q: A recent Wall Street Journal article wrote about some of the Trump projects slowing down in Florida.
A: Yeah, I saw that article and thought it was very unfair. It was just a very negative perspective of all of our successes.
They mentioned this project, which I think shows actually how wrong the article was. We're here to celebrate the opening of a sales center.
We have 80 hard contracts [of 350 units], which is incredible. We've had an 80 percent conversion from reservations to hard contracts.
Q: And of those contracts, how many are foreign investors? We're starting to see a lot foreign investment in the U.S.
A: We're seeing that in all of our properties.
I think [the reasons are] two-fold: Our Trump brand is known throughout the world. So if a foreign investor is interested in the luxury sector and looking in Atlanta, they're going to come to our property.
We always have a larger foreign base than is typical in a market, especially here in Atlanta.
And if you're paying with a Euro, you're buying at a 50 percent discount. And Atlanta is a less expensive market. So when you compound that with the discount due to the weakness of the dollar, it's an amazing deal for a foreigner.
Q: So, what is your feeling about home sales? Numbers out today on resales showed they declined nationwide.
A: Atlanta is actually performing better than the nationwide average. But there's no doubt the real estate market is suffering. We're coming off one of, if not the greatest, highs real estate has ever had. And certain markets are still faring extremely well.
At the end of the day, we're still seeing velocity the other developers aren't simply because of the international buyer and people who are drawn to our name.
When times are good, there's more product available because every dentist and lawyer thinks they're a developer. But in tougher times and when the market's not as good, those people disappear.
Q: How do you plan in uncertain economic times? As a developer, you're trying to look three, six, even 10 years out.
A: And that's how you have to look. Right now there are tremendous opportunities all across the country.
I spend a majority of my time looking for deals, great pieces of land that you can get cheaply or units in buildings.
Plus, a lot of my focus is being shifted overseas. It's good for each of our properties and builds the base of loyal buyers internationally. I spend half my time and over half my projects are overseas right now.
Q: How do you see Atlanta positioned vis a vis other cities, other areas of the world?
A: I think Atlanta's less international than New York or Los Angeles. But I think that's increasingly changing because of all the international corporations based here [and] because of the academic institutions.
And it's just a great city. Atlanta does a very good job in keeping the people who come down here to study and what-not and converting them to Georgians. As a result, it's a really dynamic, youthful, wealthy and growing city.
Q: How do you manage the particulars of doing business with family, keeping your business relationships separate from your personal relationships and vice versa?
A: I don't know that you do, but if it works out well, you grow closer. I know [my brothers] much better now than I did four years ago. We spend tremendous amounts of time together. Our offices are all right next to one another. And that can work out quite well or quite badly. There's no way to know.
It actually kept me up at night. I love my family. I love my father [Donald]. Prior to joining the company, I was extremely worried because [sometimes] you just don't respond well to one another.
But we've been fortunate. We get along well, especially given how similar we are. And it's really working. ...I went to Wharton. I had great education. But in retrospect, the amount I've learned in the last three years of my life relative to anything before is really amazing.
Q: How much latitude do you get from your father to make mistakes? To learn?
A: To make mistakes? Probably very little latitude. But to learn, thus far, quite a bit.
That was another thing I was thinking about prior to joining the company. My father likes, is used to, and has only known being in charge. So I wondered how he would respond in allowing us to grow. It's not easy for somebody who's used to running the show. And he's done a really exceptional job.
He's always watching, but he does allow us to make a deal. And there's no deal I've made thus far that he's questioned economically. That, to me, is the ultimate testament, because I know if I struck a deal and he thought he could have done better, he would.
Q: What's the best piece of business advice your father ever gave you?
A: Love what you do. It's his No.1 rule in life.
He's always tested my conviction that real estate was what I actually wanted to go into. He constantly suggested other things to the point where I almost got offended, thinking that he was gently telling me that he didn't think I had what it takes.
I eventually realized he was making sure that it was what I wanted to do as opposed to thinking it was a role I ought to assume.
Q: When you reach your father's age, what mark would you like to have left on the Trump organization that you can claim as your own?
A: The [Trump] brand has incredible luxury connotations. I'd love to take that base and grow it, particularly internationally. And the hotel operation as well.
Q: You've been lucky to have ascended to an executive position very early in life.
A: We joke that our company titles mean absolutely nothing. At the end of the day, it's my father and everyone else.
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