Building a new home can be a great experience…if you chose a builder who listens and understands what you want. And, what local consumers want in and around their homes has changed over the years, effected not only by economic climate, but also by trends and aging.

 

While one builder may add to his repertoire of single story or condominium homes, another may embrace green building practices or focus in on custom trim work.

 

On the Virginia Homes Web site, female homebuyers can take a quick online quiz which asks some general personality questions and gives you an outline of which type of floor plan would appeal to your lifestyle. The new floor plans are part of their new woman-centric approach which combines elements of being practical and aesthetic design.

 

“Ninety-one percent of all new home purchases are made by woman, directly or indirectly,” says Charles Ruma of Virginia Homes. “Our research shows that women primarily use four ‘lenses’ when looking at a home to determine its livability: storage and organization; de-stressing areas; entertaining areas; and flexible areas.”

 

“We have redesigned all of our floor plans around these concepts – we call this ‘Livability at a Glance.’ You can look at our floor plans and see how these concepts live in any of our homes,” says Ruma.

 

One of the new concepts is a rear foyer instead of a traditional mud room or laundry room entrance through the garage. It is an area where families have a drop zone with places for storage and other needs.

 

“When you enter a home, you come through the garage 95 percent of the time. Now you have an area where your kids can hang their backpacks, you can store the mail and you have a charging station for your cell phone and iPod right when you walk through the door. It is a much better option than just dropping everything on the kitchen island,” Ruma says.

 

“We have been around for 57 years, and we have seen tough times before. We have used the last three years to re-imagine and re-build our business. We have never been better at what we do than we are right now,” says Ruma.

 

The Bob Webb Group has been listening and responsive to their custom home clients for more than 50 years. This year as they celebrate their Golden Anniversary, the company has been offering new home buyers a $50,000 package of free options.

 

“The response to the program has been outstanding. We incorporated it in our Web site and have had a lot of people call regarding the promotion,” says Neil Rogers of the Bob Webb Group.

 

“The promotion is structured so that a customer can do any option to their house without having constraints. We felt this allowed our buyers to include those options that were important to them. People are focusing a lot on their kitchens whether it is their cabinetry, the appliances or redesigning the layout to meet their needs,” says Rogers

 

“Our company has been in business for 50 years and has been through previous downturns. When the market started to turn we trimmed our personnel, cut expenses and eliminated all unnecessary overhead,” says Rogers. But what stayed constant was the attention to detail and high quality product that customers associate with Bob Webb.

 

Rogers believes they are in a great position to take advantage of the housing market as it continues to evolve. Reputation means a lot in this industry and the quality remains long after the price has been forgotten.

 

Even in these economic times, the dream of custom homeownership is alive and well. Families today are looking for a way to afford the home of their dreams at a price that fits their new budget. To meet the demand for luxury homes in the mid-$300,000s, Truberry Group has introduced the Studio Series.
           

"Buyers are asking for the moon, and we have found a way to give it to them," says Truberry Group owner Scott Shively. "We took our most well-loved floorplans and gave them a makeover to keep them in the price range where luxury homebuyers need them to be."
            

Known for its quality construction and attention to detail, Shively emphasizes that the company has not sacrificed quality of construction, materials, or the craftsmen who build and finish the homes. The secret to the Studio Series is in making small design changes that keep costs down and choosing communities where lot prices tend to be more affordable than others. "We're very proud of how well this new series compares to our family of custom homes," Shively adds.

 

And the experience of working with Truberry means exceptional customer service throughout the home building process.