Three things from the International Builder Show

Several Ideal Homes employees spent last week in Orlando at the 2011 International Builders Show. Three things really stood out: 1. We are very fortunate to be new home builders in Oklahoma City. With affordable new home prices, appreciating home values, and job growth, the Oklahoma City housing marketing is the envy of the nation. Nationally most industry economist see 2011 as a turning point for the industry overall. Markets like Oklahoma City are poised above the rest to see continued growth. 2. Space matters. As new home builders, we must continue to focus on product functionality. Here's what we know about today's new home buyer. You don't want wasted space. People are unwilling to pay extra for space they don't use every day. That's why you see fewer and fewer formal dining and living rooms in our floor plans, but instead more flexible family space. We also must continue to pay special attention to the living triangle - the living room, kitchen, eating area as the hub of the home. Our new model homes in Greenleaf Trails, Somers Pointe, Red Canyon Ranch, and the model's under construction in Valencia and Country Place will showcase the living triangle at its finest. 3. People browse then buy. It is important to adapt to today's tech-savvy home shoppers/buyers. 90 percent of today's homebuyers use the web as part of their home buying process. That means things like mobile websites, texting, and smart phone applications will play a larger role in how we sell our new homes in Oklahoma City and how the consumer finds them. That was good news for us because just last week we launched our new mobile website. Browsers visiting http://bit.ly/h2idFg using their smart phone will be redirected to a user friendly mobile site where they can view our new home communities in Oklahoma City and easily search our floor plans.