With housing starts expected to drop by nearly 300,000 this year, builders are looking for ways to compete on value without giving away profit. At the recent International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., that scenario had every tech company from central vac suppliers to home automation companies gunning for builders’ attention.
According to figures from the NAHB, 75 percent of builders now offer home buyers some kind of incentive to win a sale. That’s up from 50 percent the year before. The numbers were enough to lure a healthy sampling of lighting control, HVAC, home control, entertainment, and structured wiring companies to the Orange County Convention Center in search of interested partners.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which released its fifth annual “State of the Market Builder Technology Market Study” at the builders’ show, 84 percent of builders surveyed said home technologies are important to the success of marketing new homes. At the same time builders so far have largely removed themselves from the technology marketing and sales process. Instead, home builders are relying on installation contractors to educate new home buyers about the benefits of technology, the report says.
Builders are reporting a shift in motivation for offering tech options. In 2006, builders’ chief reason for installing home technologies was reactive in response to requests of homeowners or architects, according to CEA. The prior year builders installed technology options based on the hope of profit potential.
Home technologies are experiencing varying degrees of growth in the builder market with more mature technologies, including structured wiring, multi-room audio, and monitored security, having reached a plateau. Others, including home theater, lighting control, home automation, and energy management, are on a growth curve, CEA says.
At the show, several technology companies took the wraps off new products and packages for the new home market. Exceptional Innovation (EI), for one, has taken an aggressive position on marketing its Lifeware home control and entertainment system to builders. The software is built around the Microsoft Media Center PC platform.
EI unveiled four programs designed to provide builders with differentiation opportunities for a range of budgets. The packages can be installed by a builder’s low-voltage contractor or by Lifeware integration partners. Each package includes one year of tech support. The following packages are part of the EI builder program:
- Home Theater ($31,000 suggested retail price with $2,500 builder incentive): The single-room option includes a Media Center PC, 200-disc DVD changer, audio/video receiver, 50-inch plasma display with wall-mount hardware, five speakers, one subwoofer, six zones of automated lighting, a power conditioner, universal remote control, audio/video rack, and Lifeware software.
- Essential ($38,000 suggested retail with $2,500 builder incentive): The multi-room package bundles a Media Center PC, 200-disc DVD changer, Xbox 360 Media Extender, 50-inch plasma display with wall mount, six-source multi-room audio, six pairs of in-ceiling speakers, 12 zones of automated lighting, an automated thermostat, IP surveillance camera, network switch, power conditioner, security system interface, and Lifeware software. The Xbox Media Extender enables homeowners to access music, videos, and digital photos from another room.
- Deluxe ($54,000 suggested retail with $3,000 builder incentive): The multi-room bundle includes two Media Center PCs, a home automation controller, dual 200-disc DVD changers, Xbox 360 extender, wireless touchpanel, 42- and 50-inch plasma displays with mounts, six zones of multi-source audio, six pairs of in-ceiling speakers, 12 automated lighting zones, automated thermostat, IP surveillance camera, network switch, power conditioner, security system interface, and Lifeware software.
- Premium ($74,000 suggested retail including $4,000 builder incentive): The top multi-room entree includes all the features of the Deluxe package plus an additional 42-inch plasma display, two additional audio zones and speaker pairs, 12 more lighting zones, a second thermostat, and two additional IP cameras.
According to Mike Seamons, vice president of marketing for Lifeware, the packages streamline the process for builders to provide entertainment and automation for their clients. Lifeware 2.0 folds control of music, video, security cameras, thermostats, and lighting into the Windows Vista interface and can be controlled from household PCs or handheld devices.
