A Move-Up Builder in Idaho Goes On the Offensive

Aside from the cachet of being associated with a team that ranked No. 2 nationally last year, Boise Hunter Homes uses its sponsorship to get closer to the local real estate community, “which in this market is everything,” says Jim Hunter, the four-year-old builder’s owner and CEO. At the games, his company conducts programs that honor realtors and gets them involved in charities.

“We have a kind of hybrid marketing where we have on-site sales staff and outside resale realtors who we woo and court,” says Hunter.

Apparently this courtship is reciprocal, as Boise Hunter Homes—which builds in Boise, Meridian, and Eagle, Idaho, and touts itself as Treasure Valley’s largest move-up builder—closed 56 homes in 2010 that generated $20 million, or 45% more than its revenue in 2009. The company projects that it will close 85 homes this year and pull in $28 million in sales. The company is scheduled to open its seventh community--Kingsbridge, in Meridian--this summer.

Hunter and his COO Craig Hammett attribute their company’s success to “playing offense” when the housing market in Southern Idaho was shaky. During that period, the company bought land aggressively and currently controls about 600 home sites—all in “A” locations, says Hunter—as well as rights of first refusal on lots in master-planned communities for which the builder provided early financing.

Another key factor in Boise Hunter’s sales strategy is its willingness to customize homes to whatever specifications its customers want. “One of our selling points,” explains Hunter, “is that customers can come in with an idea that’s scribbled on the back of an envelope, and we’ll design that house for them, free of charge, whether they buy a house from us or not.”

If these customers do sign a contract to buy a Boise Hunter home, the builder can complete the house in between 60 and 75 days. Boise Hunter favors even-flow construction, and spec homes represent about half of its production, although the builder manages to sell a good number of its specs before they’re completed. “In general, a lot of builders that refused to build spec homes have gone out of business in this market,” says Hunter.

In an interview he did with local station KTVB last December, Hunter observed “buyers are just looking for value today.” Boise Hunter targets second- and third-time move-up buyers, and its single-family homes and condominiums are priced from $250,000 to $650,000 with $327,000 being the average, which Hammett says is only slightly higher than what short sales of existing homes are going for today. In addition, Boise Hunter offers its buyers a two-year extended warranty and homes that meet or exceed Energy Star’s energy efficiency measures.

Boise Hunter’s homes average 2,800 square feet and include such standard amenities as surround sound and three-car garages. In each of the last two years the company has won “best overall” awards for houses priced $300,000 and up at its local Parade of Homes.

Prior to his starting Boise Hunter Homes in 2007, Hunter was an executive with Exxon Co. USA and spent 17 years with the Corky McMillin Cos., where he was executive vice president of planning and acquisitions. After leaving McMillin, he moved to Idaho and co-founded HRA Real Estate Development Partners 1, which sought real estate investments in the western U.S. (HRA is currently inactive.)

John Caulfield is senior editor for Builder magazine.