Home Design and Marketing for Women Homebuyers

Sales and Marketing Ideas (Nov. / Dec. 2010)
The sales and marketing magazine of the housing industry - Publish by the NAHB

The homes you build speak volumes about your view of women. Are women's preferences in home design evident throughout your homes? Which do you focus on more: the practical aspects of design such as traffic patterns and value engineering; the aesthetics and the "WOW" factor; or the social aspects of design -- what the home says about her, the home owner?

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Call it intuition. Women definitely have it! Instinctively, we can recognize what works well and what does not work well in our homes. Unfortunately, sometimes the people who build our homes are not as intuitive. That’s why national design firm Design Basics launched a new division called Woman-Centric Matters in 2006, a program which licenses and trains building contractors in how to understand and meet the needs of female homeowners and to market to female homebuyers.


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With Women in Mind

By: Nina Patel, Posted February 23, 2011

In 2003, Design Basics, in Omaha, Neb., one of the largest home plans design firms in the country, began interviewing couples about what they want in home plans and found that the most useful feedback came from the women who participated.

In 2006, this research led the company to create the Woman-Centric Matters program. “Whether building new or remodeling, we wanted to better understand what she wants in her home,” says Paul Foresman, vice president of Woman-Centric Matters, a division of Design Basics.

The Experience

Women want a home that reflects their tastes and interests. And, Foresman points out, the social reasons for upgrading a home are important to them but are often overlooked.

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Homes Designed for Women

by Marilyn Zelinsky-Syarto, Posted Aug 6th 2010

Home builders are trying to capitalize on why women are drawn to some houses -- and not others.

When Brandi Hach and her husband were looking for a new home, they swore that new home construction was not for them. She was eight months pregnant at the time and in no mood to deal with the frantic building process she saw her friends go through. Then the Hachs happened to drive by an open house held by Fargo, North Dakota-based Heritage Homes, and in they went. "I was blown away," says Hach. As soon as she walked through the front door, she was drawn to the enormous living area next to the kitchen, and then she spotted the rear entry lockers offering a counter and a place for everything.

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Smart Money Magazine Article.
April 20009 Issue

Many of you many have seen the Smart Money/Wall Street Journal article. this. If not here is the link - Smart Money Magazine Article. April 2009 Issue. When it comes to house hunting, Kim Sliney is the first to admit she can be picky. After visiting—and vetoing—37 houses, the single mom from Exeter, R.I., happened upon her just-right fit: a newly built, $350,000 home that boasted a spacious-feeling layout, killer walk-in closets and custom details like crown molding, granite countertops and a gas fireplace—for no extra charge. How did she stumble into . . .

We are working hard for national coverage of the Woman-Centric program and our Woman-Centric builders.

Read the entire article: Wanted: Single Women Home Buyers at SmartMoney.com

Fine Line Homes of Central Pennsylvania and Southern New York airs new TV ad,

• Mark Bitner
  Fine Line Homes
  

  Watch video now . . .
  

Design Basics is proud to welcome Lamar Smith Signature Group as a Woman-Centric Matters! Program Home Builder:

• Lamar Smith
  Lamar Smith Signature Group
  Reidsville, GA
  

Designing for Women: See It From Her Perspective

Meet four personality types and what homes they are often drawn to.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey | March 2010

Is your buyer a Margo, an Elise, a Claire, or a Maggie? By knowing which of these personas your female buyers most closely align with, you may be able to narrow that huge inventory of homes for sale and help her find the place that’s perfect for her.

Read the entire article. . .

Steve Flint - President
Flint Custom Homes
Layton, Utah

Have you heard the news? We have launched a new video. Check out the link below and let us know what you think!

Watch the video...

Design Basics is proud to welcome these home builders as new Woman-Centric Matters! Program Home Builders:

• Scott A Smith.
  Roof Tight Construction, LLC.
  Fall River, NS, Canada
  
   
• Dave Fisher
  Freedom Home Group
  Great Falls, MT
  

The XX Factor
(January 31, 2010, Columbus, OH) By Jim Weiker, The Columbus Dispatch

Charles Ruma, President
Virginia Homes
web: www.virginia-homes.com

On the top floor of the new Virginia Homes model in Dublin sits an isolated room, about a half-dozen steps up from the master bedroom.

The room is large -- 20 by 11 feet -- and sparsely furnished with a small sofa, two chairs, a burbling fountain and a pedestal holding Asian art.

The Woman-Centric Windsor Model at Wedgewood Glen.

Charles Ruma, President
Virginia Homes
web: www.virginia-homes.com

Virginia Homes announces the GRAND OPENING of the first Woman-Centric model home in the Columbus Area at Wedgewood Glen in Dublin. Come celebrate with us on Saturday, January 16th from 1-4 pm. We’ll have live music courtesy of the Reid Barth Jazz Ensemble great refreshments and lots of fun… plus tours of our incredible Woman-Centric model, The Windsor.

A Revolutionary New Home From An Amazing Builder!
The First Woman-Centric Model in Columbus, Ohio from Virginia Homes!

Charles Ruma, President
Virginia Homes
web: www.virginia-homes.com

Powell, OH -- Virginia Homes is proud to announce the Grand Opening of the first Woman-Centric home in the Columbus area. The Windsor model at Wedgewood Glen in Dublin will celebrate its Grand Opening on Saturday, January 16th from 1 to 4 pm. Featuring a jazz "speakeasy" theme, the event will include refreshments and live music courtesy of the Reid Barth Jazz Ensemble. Attendees will also have the chance to win dinner for two at award-winning Mitchell's Steakhouse.

Read the entire article . . .

Housing in America
Hosted by John Schleimer on Voice America™ Talk Radio Network.

“Recent surveys indicate that women in households are directly involved or are the primary decision-maker on which new home will be purchased over 90% of the time. Design Basics, an Omaha-based architecture firm, has developed a program called Woman-Centric which offers a series of floor plans designed from input from women

Click to listen to the entire interview

More than I thought, Part 1
by Matthew Rodrigues

This past weekend, I went to what I thought was going to be a little jewelry show in Exeter, RI to do something different for the blog. Once I started talking to people who were in attendance, I realized I had much more than one story in front of me. I spent about 4 hours with strangers and left feeling like I had made new friends. All of the stories are worth revisiting if I get this job. One, because they are very in depth and two, because many times I was just loving the stories so much I forgot to film.

Here is what I got…

Woman-Centric Building: Rosewood Homes
by Katie Honnette on December 21st, 2009 in Home

Building a new home can be an overwhelming task. Oftentimes, after everything is said and done, homeowners regret not including simple things such as a drop zone for keys and mail or a toaster drawer in the kitchen to cut down on countertop clutter.

That’s not the case when you build with Rachael and Larry Weissenburger, owners of Rosewood Homes in Sioux Falls, South Dakota...

Read the entire article . .

St. Jude Dream Home® HBA Celebration Cookout

(Springfield, MO) The 2009 St Jude Dream Home opens to the public May 16th. On mAy 7th, HBA of Greater Springfield hosted a celebration cook-out for the contractors and vendors. The $375,000 Woman-Centric home was built by Sam Bradley Homes. The home is a fundraiser for the St Jude Research Hospital.

Ed Alden (L) represents the developer who donated the lot, Scott Kisling (C) is chairman of the Dream Home Committee, and Sam Bradley (R) is the builder of the home.

Woman-centric, according to Kliethermes, is an approach to home design, building and the customer experience. “The construction industry is dominated by men, but 91 percent of the decisions about the home are made by women,” he said. “This approach recognizes that.”

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Design Basics is proud to welcome these home builders as new Woman-Centric Matters! Licensed Home Builders:

• Strawn Constracting, Inc., Hutchinson, KS
  

Design Basics is proud to welcome these home builders as new Woman-Centric Matters! Licensed Home Builders:

• Heritage Homes, Fargo, ND
• Randy Foley Builders, Inc., Utica, NY
• Dan Ric, Inc, La Grange GA
• Nappier & Turner Construction Company, Inc., Hendersonville, NC
  

St. Jude Dream Home® Update

(Springfield, MO) KSPR's Kevin Lighty goes live from this years St. Jude Dream Home. He shows off some of the different things in this $375,000 Woman-Centric home under construction by Sam Bradley Homes that you could win for just $100. Watch today's live hits from the home.

Watch the video.

2009 St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway

Take a chance on winning the St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway and help the kids of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Reserve your $100 ticket for a chance to win our beautiful house valued at approximately $375,000. The house is located in the Lions Gate community in Springfield, Missouri, and is built by the HBA with construction coordinated by Sam Bradley Homes - our Woman-Centric Home Builder in Springfield, Missouri.

Winners of the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway will be drawn during the St. Jude television special on KSPR-TV on Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 5 p.m.

Reserve your ticket before April 30 to be eligible to win a $1,500 Visa gift card, courtesy of Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors.

We would like to offer a special thanks to our sponsors: KSPR-TV, KTTS 94.7, Sam Bradley Homes, HBA of Springfield, Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors, Family Pharmacy, Hancock Fabrics, San Francisco Oven and Epsilon Sigma Alpha.

Learn more about Sam Bradley Homes and the St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway

Fairfield Homes, Lancaster, OH hosts two-day Woman-Centric
training seminar.

"Picking a home: a personal, ‘moving’ decision"
(February 2009- Lancaster, OH) About 65 real estate agents, lenders, architects and other home building officials participated in a two-dayseminar that explained the approach of building homes that cater to the needs and wants of women. Read the entire article from the Lancaster Eagle Gazette.

Minnesota Builders Know What Women Want
By: Alison Rice
A fresh approach to marketing, customer service, and home design brings business to small firms during a incredibly difficult market.

When a handful of small Minneapolis-St. Paul builders decided in 2008 to join forces on a woman-centered marketing campaign, they had no idea how timely a decision that would be. “What started out as a marketing strategy turned into a survival strategy,” Rick Storlie of New Home Sales Coach told attendees at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas Tuesday.

Read the entire article.

Sam Bradley Homes Breaks Ground on the 2009 St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
(October 2008 - Springfield, MO), Sam Bradley Homes has been chosen as the builder of the 2009 St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital Dream Home by the board of directors of the Springfield, MO Home Builders Association Charitable Foundation. The home is being built on lot #48 in the Lionsgate development south of Springfield.

The Woman-Centric Matters home is being built with changes from Design Basics plan. Watch the KSPR (the local ABC affiliate) piece of the groundbreaking.

Bullington Builders Opens Woman-Centric Home Design Studio,
(April 2008 Virginia Beach, VA ) Bullington Builders opened its first home Woman-Centric^sm design studio in March 2008. Elizabeth Anne Home Design Studios was opened to support Bullington's' Woman-Centric^sm approach to home design, building and the customer experience. Opening the design studio was a huge, and very forward thinking move for Bullington. No other builder in the Virginia Beach our area has a design center/studio, unless you consider a model home garage/office with wood and tile samples propped up against the wall in a dusty corner. The studio is only 1300 sq ft, yet, Tanya Bullington succeeded in making it “feel” much larger by dividing the space and incorporating several small studios within this space. The Bullington Design Studio is located conveniently between a “Curves for Women” and a nail salon…..on purpose of course!
 

Reflection Homes Woman-Centric Approach Gets Noticed!, (Akron, OH)
February 2008 - NBC affiliate WKYC, Channel Three interviews Bunny Dennison, Vice President of Reflection Homes about Woman-Centric Approach to home design and building.

WKYC story and video: http://www.wkyc.com/news/
 

Minneapolis Press Goes Gaga over Woman-Centric Models Parade Homes!
(Minneapolis, MN), February 2008 - In the first two weeks of Feb.. 2008, Our Minneapolis woman-centric builders received free publicity with features on all 3 local TV news programs, editorial in 6 different newspapers, local magazines and various radio spots. Our Woman-Centric Builders are Bruggeman Homes, Custom One Homes, NIH Homes, Severson Homes and TC Homes.
NBC KARE, Channel 11 story and video:
www.kare11.com/onlive/wherewelive/wherewelive_article.aspx?storyid=498145

Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/15398061.html

http://www.startribune.com/homes/15397986.html

Midwest Home Magazine
http://www.midwesthomemag.com/media/Midwest-Home/February-2008/2008-Parade-of-Homes-Spring-Preview/Perfect-livability/
 

Deeerbrook Development lands 41new home contracts!, (Warwick, RI )
January 2008 - Hugh Fisher of Deer Brook Development sent 700 invitations for a REALTOR event to announce the opening of his 1st Woman-Centric model home. Expecting a few dozen attendees, over 300 people turned out. Since that event Hugh has signed 41 new home contracts!

  Woman-Centric Buzz