Wired for Profit
August 22, 2009
CONSIDERING THE CURRENT PRESSURE TO SUSTAIN margins, it makes no sense that many builders continue to leave money on the table when it comes to selling digital technology to new-home buyers. Retailers collect billions each year from the sales of plasma televisions, iPod audio systems, home theaters, security, and automated lighting systems. Yet too many builders seem content to wire the home for automated equipment, often at razor-thin margins, and leave the sale of high-margin extras to others.
Digital technology, much easier to install in a new home than retrofit into an existing one, can be a major point of sales differentiation. Thankfully, a growing number of progressive builders are seizing this advantage, striking precedent-setting arrangements with installers and suppliers, bringing digital technology into the option process, and training their sales staff to actually sell the lifestyle benefits.
Read Full Story: Wired for Profit.
Instant Entertainment
August 22, 2009
Orleans Homebuilders has a new arrangement with Philadelphia-area electronics retailer HiFi House in which home buyers can opt for audio and video systems during the design center phase and have the new gear ready to go the day they move in.
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According to Kelley, Orleans gets a percentage of the sale—a deal similar to any other standard new-home upgrade, although margins vary by product—and HiFi House hopes to make money by registering high-volume sales. The electronics systems are on display at the home builder’s 8,000-square-foot design center in Bensalem, Pa., about three miles from its headquarters.
Read Full Story: Instant Entertainment.
Note: Nauset TV & Sound offers a preffered builders program with profit sharing, similar to what is described in this article.
Scaling Back Smartly
August 22, 2009
The new trend toward smaller homes is a reversal of two decades’ worth of expanding floor plans, a time when, according to Associated Press statistics, the median-sized single-family home went from just under 1,600 square feet to over 2,200 square feet. As the size of homes retreats, how can technology help builders offset the perception of a smaller home?
“Luxury can compensate for size,” notes Jeff Singer, marketing communications director at Crestron. “The last thing you want in a smaller space is lots of wall clutter, which makes a space feel even smaller. An integrated home control solution provides a sleek, minimalist installation.”
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Home Technology Holds On
August 22, 2009
Ralph Corbo builds million-dollar homes in western Connecticut. A member of the NAHB and the Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association, The Corbo Group has long sold new homes with robust technology packages. But the market for its spec homes has virtually dried up, so late last year the company took an unprecedented step. It snapped up a foreclosed nine-lot subdivision in Waterbury, Conn., and made plans to build and sell $200,000 starter homes. The question became what home technology the company could offer, if any, and still hit its price point.
“The family that’s going to buy these homes is a couple of 28-year-olds, just got married, and they have laptops, iPods, and wide-screen TVs,” Corbo says. “Technology is part of who they are. So we decided we couldn’t give up our edge, our belief that technology was an important part of our homes.”
Read Full Story: Home Technology Holds On.
Is Home Automation a Key to Going Green?
August 22, 2009
Advocates of green technology see the bright skies of a cleaner, greener future—as well as huge business opportunities as many of us strive to go greener. And one of those opportunities is in home control, also known as home automation.
Green technology advocates like myself see the benefit of using electronics to help save energy in a home by shutting off our gadgets and gizmos automatically, controlling our lighting so we’re not leaving on banks of lights unnecessarily, and regulating HVAC systems in our homes more effectively. And as more and more homeowners invest in solar panels and receive smart meters from their utilities, interest in energy monitoring systems will boom. With energy monitoring systems, we’re able to learn how much energy our homes are using—and then do something to cut those costs.
Read Full Story: Is Home Automation a Key to Going Green?.
A Tale of Two Builders
August 22, 2009
Dave Febbraio, a Sherman, Conn.-based integrator, has worked with two builders on the same 5,000-squarefoot timber-framed house. First, Febbraio worked with the original builder. Now, he’s working with the builder the homeowner brought in to clean up the mess.
According to Febbraio, who owns Structured Home Solutions, the construction project was about a year behind schedule and about $1 million over budget when Danbury, Conn.-based Jim Blansfield Builders took the reigns. Febbraio says Blansfield seems to have the project back on track.
So what is Blansfield doing that the previous builder was not?
Read Full Story: A Tale of Two Builders.
7 Tips for Saving on Land Development
August 22, 2009
If you are involved in the entitlement and land development phase of home building, you may be aware that real profits can be increased by implementing common process improvements coupled with technology “tools” that are readily available. If you’re not aware, you should be.
The biggest benefit of improved processes is shorter development cycles. Less time means lower development costs. Improved quality of the product will also likely result, bringing increased revenue and profit. The return on investing in implementing technology tools is huge, especially when you consider that the technology may already be in use within your organization — just not to its full extent.
Read Full Story: 7 Tips for Saving on Land Development.
6 Common Automation Pitfalls to Avoid
August 22, 2009
It’s easy to get swept away when planning for a home automation system. The systems are so robust they can do just about anything.
However, it’s important to keep a level head when designing a system for your house. Your custom electronics professional (CE pro) will be there to guide you, of course, but it never hurts to know what to watch out for yourself.
Read Full Story: 6 Common Automation Pitfalls to Avoid
Sports Bar, Movie Theater, Night Club All in One
August 22, 2009
Located down in the basement of this home is a little something for everyone. Actually, make that a lot something for everyone. It looks like it’s just for billiards and home theater, but this large room is set up for much more—theater, billiards, bar, disco, karaoke and sports video wall.
Read Full Story: Sports Bar, Movie Theater, Night Club All in One.
Acoustical Treatments Can Maximize Revenue Flow
August 22, 2009
Most experts agree that the use of acoustical treatments is the preferred way to deal with sound issues for a number of reasons.
Acoustical treatments offer more than just better sound; they also provide builders and electronics installers a substantial upgrade path that includes design, materials and labor fees, which can greatly contribute to increased revenue flow.
Read Full Story: Acoustical Treatments Can Maximize Revenue Flow.