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Q & A with town developer Casey Roloff
Published 11/19/2007
Alan Rosenberg
A. Rosenberg
Alan Rosenberg a writer and former journalist for the Boston Herald recently sat down and interviewed Seabrook developer Casey Roloff about Seabrook’s success. Here are a few excerpts:
ALAN: Casey, your dream of building a new beach town seems to be coming true out here at Seabrook. How does it feel now that you can see so many people enjoying their front porches, walking the trails to the beach, and sitting around the fire pit in Crescent Park?
CASEY: It feels great. And it’s true. This is what I dreamed about. But I’m still pinching myself that it’s happening. Even now, I get the chills walking through town and seeing how meticulously everything is put together. I had big plans for Seabrook, but what I see today is even better than I imagined.
ALAN: I’ve read that Seabrook is on a pace to double the number of home sales from the year before. When real estate sales are down around the country and the Northwest how is it that your sales are increasing?
CASEY: Over the past five or six years I think people have lost sight of what makes a real estate investment a good investment. Seabrook has strong fundamentals: A beautiful beach, an artistic town plan, a commitment to authentic details and materials, a very limited supply all within an easy drive from a Seattle. I believe we have underestimated the pent-up demand for a new town like Seabrook for this region.
ALAN: Who are the people buying your houses?
CASEY: Not surprisingly, we’re seeing a lot of Baby Boomers—retirees or people planning for their retirement—and we’re also attracting young families like mine. They’re looking for vacation homes or year-round homes for the future, and a number of them are putting their homes in the cottage rental program, which makes their purchase more practical and easier to afford.
ALAN: Where are they coming from?
CASEY: The majority are coming from the Seattle area. One of the selling points for me when I selected this location was the fact that it was less than a three hour drive to Seattle. A lot of research has concluded that people buying second homes within a three hour drive are much more apt to use them regularly. This is a place that most everyone can get to easily.
ALAN: What about Seabrook is attracting them?
CASEY: It’s a combination of things. They tell me they like being part of a real town; that our beach is as gorgeous as any in the Northwest, including the Oregon coast. I also hear people say that, because of the high demand for vacation rentals, a house or cottage looks like a good long-term investment. And, whether folks are from Seattle or Portland, Seabrook isn’t far from their homes.
ALAN: What other feedback have you gotten from homebuyers?
CASEY: The funny thing is most of our new owners weren’t looking to buy a home at the beach. They’ve been spending vacations on the Oregon Coast but thought it was too far to consider buying something there. Then, when they came to Seabrook, they realized that they actually could have their own place on the coast without sacrificing the spectacular scenery and natural beauty they’ve experience in Oregon. Folks familiar with idyllic places like Cannon Beach or Carmel in California tell me they envision Seabrook as the next great beach town.
ALAN: The cottage rental company had a busy summer. You had more than a 90% occupancy rate. Were you surprised that so many people view Seabrook as a vacation destination?
CASEY: Not really. I’m only surprised that Seabrook has caught on so quickly. But it makes sense. In the past, when people from Puget Sound were looking for a getaway, they would skip the Washington coast for the beach towns in Oregon. Now that Seabrook is on the map, they can have their beach retreat in a beautiful, pristine place with all the amenities of a real beach town, and they don’t have to spend as much time in the car.
ALAN: Why do you think it’s working out so well?
CASEY: Because of the great team we ha
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