Fulton Homes
An Innovative Approach to Tough Times
by Aliya Hassan
Since its foundation 30 years ago, Fulton Homes has become one of Arizona's largest homebuilders with over 90 people currently on staff. With its all-star cast of designers from Adam Brothers and CTI, Fulton focuses on home buyers who are looking to upgrade from their initial home purchases or "first-time move-up buyers."
Although Fulton Homes currently has an impressive 16 communities throughout the Valley, the pressure wrought by the housing crisis is not lost on the veteran homebuilder. But very often, out of necessity comes innovation. Such was the case for Fulton Homes' newest offerings to homeowners already living in its several Valley communities.
Now, Fulton provides an opportunity to previous home buyers who can't purchase a new home now but still wish to update their surroundings. Built in November 2006, the Fulton Home Design Center offers these owners a way to have the latest new home features and decor without moving into a new home?and a way for the homebuilder to bring in new revenue while housing sales are slower.
New Old Customers
The Design Center provides updating options ranging from new doors, flooring, faucets and countertops to modern lighting, cabinets and ceiling fans, which leaves clients with only one complication: having too many choices. Aware that expediency is key to success, the Design Center advertises its services through its direct mailing system in which 300,000 previous Fulton Homes buyers are targeted. This allows the center knowledge of the homeowner's floor plan and what appliances are currently in place.
"We don't have to go up to their house and measure the countertop or measure their flooring," explains Fulton Homes Vice President of Marketing Dennis Webb. "We know exactly what their floor plan is and we know what they put in there. It's easy for us. If a customer says 'I'm looking for a granite top,' we can give them a price in three seconds because we've already priced that out."
Once the client makes a decision on the new additions to their home, Fulton Homes offers packaging options in which, for example, a matching oven, microwave and dishwasher can be purchased. This makes it easier for clients to maintain consistency throughout their re-designed homes.
"You pull it all together at the design center," says Webb, "and you can say, 'We have this countertop, this flooring, this cabinetry and this appliance package, and you can put it together and see what it looks like. To accomplish this somewhere else, you would have to go to eight or nine different places."
Although many homeowners are choosing to renovate their current homes instead of trying their luck with the housing market, there are also those who are simply looking to upgrade their homes with amenities that weren't available when they purchased. "When we built these homes, there wasn't the offering there is today as far as style," says Webb. "So it makes sense to upgrade those things because it doesn't cost much money to give your bathroom or kitchen a new look."
The Retailer Approach
To expedite decision making for homeowners taking part in the renovation process, Fulton's website offers visitors the ability to peruse through multiple pictures of lighting fixtures and other appliances. "It's kind of like buying clothes online versus buying them in a store," says Webb. "You want to try it on, and so we use the retailer approach to the design center because we're all ex-retailers, we don't know any better."
Using the basic retail premise of discovering what the customer desires and then providing it, Fulton has found more success than companies that create the product first and then attempt to convince their customers of its need. Fulton Homes takes pride in its ability to design a home that is appealing to the eye as well as functional and appropriate for its inhabitants.
Listening to the wants of their clients has proved to be worthwhile for Fulton Homes when it comes to the company's ambitious successes and near failures. When outdoor living was said to be an upcoming trend sought by homeowners, the company began to devote ample space to outdoor kitchen areas in homes. However, the response was lackluster and the idea was scratched.
Fulton quickly reverted to the original outdoor plans that, at least by Fulton's observations, adequately met home buyers' needs. "It didn't work," says Weber. "People didn't want them. So we said, 'Okay, let's take that space and use it for indoor kitchens because that's what people are spending their money on.'"
Investing In the Future
Many of the problems the homebuilding industry faces are cause by its resistance to innovation, according to Webb. "The most revolutionary thing in building homes in the last 100 years has been the nail gun," he says. "Because it's an archaic industry, it doesn't embrace technology like it should. No one wants to do anything they didn't do last year. They're stuck in their old ways."
Embracing changes in technology isn't just talk for the veteran homebuilder. Under the direction of its chairman and CEO, Ira A. Fulton, Fulton Homes has proved its dedication to education and the advancement of technology. The homebuilder has contributed more than $160 million to Arizona State University, distributed between the College Of Education, the College Of Engineering and other areas of the university. In fact, ASU recently named its College of Education in honor of Mary Lou Fulton after the Fultons gave the university a $50 million gift to set up an endowment for the college.
With communities from surprise to Queen Creek to Casa Grande, this homebuilder has seen its share of successes. Recently, Fulton Homes opened Mediterranean, the middle series at Ironwood Crossing with floor plans from just under 1,800 square feet to almost 3,800 square feet.
Fulton has been able to apply their inventive ideas to a somewhat floundering market, creating a demand for a service that may not have existed otherwise. "This market is way different than it was a few years ago," Webb says. "We want to be able to come out of this a stronger company, and I think we will."
Aliya Hassan is an editorial intern at LPI Multimedia, Inc. and a journalism major at Arizona State University.
Builder Facts:
Corporate office: Tempe
Founded: 1978
Community: Mediterranean at Ironwood Crossing in Queen Creek
Floor plans: 21 models from 1,763 to 3,769 square feet.
Price range: $190s to $250s
Models Opened: Summer 2008
Employees: 90
What homebuyers should know: We have a retail approach to the home buying business. We find out what the customer wants, and then we provide that for them. It's a basic retail premise.
What sets us apart from the competition: We don't just build houses; we build communities. That allows for immaculate landscaping and more open spaces.
