"The average consumer expects to be treated like a VIP whether or not they're wealthy," says Barbara Caplan, a partner at Yankelovich, the market research firm based in Chapel Hill, N.C. "They have this level of control in the marketplace and expect to have a dialogue about their options."The trend plumps up the bottom line for builders, whose average gross margin on options and upgrades is about 33 percent, compared with standard housing margins in the low 20-percent range, according to Strudler. More
