Dalron boss is master of market intelligence.

When Ron Arnold needs to gather some market intelligence, you'll find him chatting it up with some prospective homebuyers at a Sunday afternoon open house.

The 63-year-old president of Dalron, Sudbury's largest residential builder, keeps a close eye on interest rates and a keen ear to what the real estate agents are saying.

But he says his most important barometer on analysing the city's changing demographics and consumer buying patterns are at Dalron's weekend showcases.

"I make it a point to spent a couple of hours at various model homes listening to people and finding out who they are, where they're coming from, who they're working for and which parts of the economy are expanding."

Sudbury's home building market is booming, and Dalron is at the forefront, fueled by a white-hot mining industry and a more diversified local economy that is firing on all cylinders.

In recovering from a housing slump in the latter half of the 1990s, Arnold says the market has rebounded stronger than ever and he expects it to have legs to last a few more years.

Over three decades, Dalron has constructed more than 3,000 homes and the family-run company has garnered the Ernest Assaly Award as the Ontario Builder of the Year in 1991 and 1998.

Born and raised in Sudbury, the Laurentian University economics grad was ready for a career change during the 1960s after five years of teaching elementary and high school.

He dove into the home construction business with his father, Oscar, who was in the plumbing and heating business, before Arnold decided to branch out on his own, forming Dalron in 1969.

His timing was perfect. Sudbury was growing in the early 1970s after emerging from a recession and Arnold began accumulating 75 and 100-foot lots in Hanmer, north of the city, for $1,000 apiece.

"That was the big break. After two or three years in the Valley, sewer and water (infrastructure) came and values went from less than a $1,000 to $8,000."

After three years, he had land-banked more than 50 large lots before heading over to nearby Lively to buy a subdivision that Inco had serviced.

Over the years, Arnold estimates he's experienced at least five boom cycles in the market. The down periods he used wisely to stockpile property in various quadrants of the city.

"We were able to take advantage of the cycles in the sense that we were able to buy land at low prices during recessionary times, then be able to take advantage of the land appreciation and sell off in the good times. Then, during the next recession, buy more land.

"We like to achieve a certain volume in order to achieve economies. There's no way that you can by building in just one area of the community. We're not like Toronto or Ottawa. We don't have that market, so we need to cover a broader spectrum."

The company has diversified with a leasing division, now approaching a million square feet worth of rental properties, and a retirement living division, Autumnwood Mature Lifestyle Communities. Dalron manages two facilities and now has two more under construction including an $18-million retirement complex on North Bay's waterfront.

Dalron also remains a family affair with brothers Dave, Phil and Frank sitting as vice-presidents, daughter Kristi working the marketing end, and son John handling the commercial properties and leasing division.

Guido Mazza, the City of Greater Sudbury's chief building official, says Arnold has always been a steadfast promoter and a "very good ambassador" for the community.

He says Dalron's work has attracted other developers to recognize Sudbury as the place to build.

"He's been a stalwart to our building industry and now we're starting to see other developers, like Sam Biasucci from Sault Ste. Marie, come in and start to invest the community.

"During the slow period he was basically the only game in town, the only person that was investing and putting buildings up.

"He's a developer that has a handle on the pulse of the community and he's got some very good people working for him that sense the market was going to be there."

Arnold says though it's difficult to anticipate the next big trend, the buyer profile has changed significantly over the years.

"We're getting more professional people and young families moving into Sudbury with fairly good jobs and incomes," says Arnold. "We're seeing about 40 to 50 per cent of our home sales to people who are moving into town. That's an abnormally high number."

Currently, the company is studying prospects around the Kincardine area where the Bruce Nuclear plant is expanding.

They've scouted the area and have made offers on properties for possible residential subdivisions. But Sudbury will always be the company's primary focus.

Arnold, who sits on several local boards including the Sudbury Airport and Sudbury Food Bank, says the community remains close to his heart.

"I was born and lived here all my life. We've had some tough times, but every time we get into a recession - whether it's because of the great business people or great leaders in our community - we seem to pull out of the recession in a much stronger way. I kind of compare it to an animal in a corner having to fight it's way out, just scratching and clawing, and it becomes stronger for it.

"I think that has been the nature of Sudbury."

www.dalron.com

By IAN ROSS 

Northern Ontario Business