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Rather than make design decisions in a sales office, today's buyers are likely to visit a showroom. Instead of simply selecting carpets, countertops, and the color of appliances, they're confronted with a dozen different walk-in kitchen and bath vignettes, half a dozen fireplace surrounds, and a...
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Toll Brothers offers buyers about 1,000 options these days, significantly more than 10 years ago. "Time deficit cuts across all markets," says Sandra Kulli, a marketing consultant based in Malibu, Calif. "If the options experience can be a respite, like the sorbet between dinner and dessert, that's...
Brian Hutt, director of design studios for U.S. Home, says the industry has gotten smarter about showing off its products, both in models and in design centers, which has contributed to bumping up margins, including his company's. In 1997, U.S. Home had five design studios and the average spent on...
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The Ryland Group, Toll Brothers, John Laing Homes, and Centex Homes all put a distinctive spin on programs offered to those who sell options and upgrades.
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The process that new home buyers go through to select options and upgrades has evolved over years of practice. "So far this year, 30 percent of our profit comes from our design centers," says John Rymer, vice president of sales and marketing, Morrison Homes in Atlanta.
The selections process isn't what it used to be, and I mean that in a good way. Once a seeming afterthought, with carpet samples propped up against a garage wall and photocopied images of refrigerators stuffed into a well-worn plastic binder, the process left a lot to be desired.
Once a haven for winter residents, Florida's southwest coast is now booming as a year-round market for all types of home buyers. WCI Communities saw a huge opportunity to service these buyers with a new retail-style design studio.