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Bruce E. Sutter has many fans, even among those who have yet to use Builders Auction Co., in Houston. His is the first firm to make a business of auctioning model-home furnishings, most of which are out-of-date and unsuitable for new models.
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"Everything out here [in Las Vegas] is engineered, even the way you spell your name," Blanchard says, only half joking. Only in Las Vegas would a builder--even a flamboyant one--take a $7 million (asking price) gamble on a spec home.
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At Maracay Homes, models used to be merchandised by themes. "We did it the same way as other builders did," says David Bessey, president and CEO of the Scottsdale, Ariz., company, which closed 450 homes last year. Today, those decorating themes are gone at Maracay, replaced by an approach based on...
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Model homes can be a builder's greatest sales tool. They're a tangible way to demonstrate the company's capabilities and can also serve as a showcase for product and finish upgrades as well as floor plan options. Theses tips are just a few ideas on how to make your models work for you.
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Sometimes a merchandising idea seems like a good one, but it just doesn't work out. For example, design director Karen Richardson at Kathy Andrews Interiors, who works with David Weekley Homes, vividly remembers a beautiful star-burst tile inset that took nine months to get. That made it...
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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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Builders knock the stuffing out of their merchandising budgets, but in a good way.
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Homelink show home aims to dispel some old notions about design and technology in new homes.With our Homelink show home, we set out to overcome the objections that people might have to new homes and change perceptions in the process. And I welcome you, while you're at the International Builders'...
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Homelink is a unique concept -- a show home that combines the ambiance of the past with the technology of tomorrow. The partnership of BUILDER magazine, Morrison Homes and Looney Ricks Kiss has created a home that will deliver comfort and convenience to the homeowner and innovative construction...
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Virtual tours would make a great addition to any builder's Web site. In fact, offering virtual tours at your sales office or on your Web site can reduce the number of plans you need to build models for and boost the sales of un-modeled floor plans.