Industry Spotlight
Movers and Shakers
Taylor Morrison Names New Associate
Angela Elliott has been named internet sales and marketing associate for homebuilder Taylor Morrison's Phoenix division. In her new position, Elliott, who has been a sales associate for the company since 2006, will handle all internet leads filtered through online sources.
She will serve as an information source for potential home buyers, assist in scheduling personal visits to the communities, manage the company's inventory and maintain the Phoenix division website. Later this year, Elliott will also manage a live chat feature that will further assist customers with on-the-spot information and answers to their questions.
Prior to joining Taylor Morrison, Elliott was a sales associate with Centex Homes and a transaction coordinator with Keller Williams First Realty. A two-time MAME Award winner in 2006 and 2007 for sales dollar volume, Elliott is also the recipient of Taylor Morrison's ACES Award for having the highest sales numbers for March 2008. She is a member of the Southeast Valley Association of Realtors.
Bison Homes Horses Return to WestWorld
The Bison Homes Percherons have returned to WestWorld in Scottsdale for the upcoming tourist season. The Percherons spent a busy summer at Bison Ranch in Overgaard while making several appearances throughout Arizona's White Mountains. The team will take a break before gearing up for the Festival of Horses at WestWorld December 12 to 14, followed soon after by the Fiesta Bowl Parade.
The Percherons are presented by Bison Homes, a premier builder of retreat homes in Northeast Arizona. These regal draft horses are stabled near the eastern end of the WestWorld grounds and are available for viewing during their WestWorld stay.
Builder Buzz
William Ryan Homes Announces New Project in Goodyear
William Ryan Homes is in the process of selling its second and newest community in Estrella: Ironwood Pointe. Adhering to the focus of being customer driven by design, William Ryan Homes conceptualized Ironwood Pointe with customers in mind, providing affordability and energy efficiency to prospective home buyers.
Ironwood Pointe is adjacent to William Ryan Homes' first community in Estrella, Greenspointe at Mountain Ranch. In comparison to Greenspointe, in which most of the lots have premium golf course locations, Ironwood Pointe has slightly smaller and more affordable homesites while still offering the same quality construction.
Ironwood Pointe includes five well-designed floor plans with single- and two-story homes ranging from $189,990 to $224,990, from 1,717 to over 2,700 square feet. There are a total of 75 homesites available in Ironwood Pointe, with captivating elevations and a nice mix of golf courses, wash/open area, and interior frontage.
"As Estrella's newest and greenest builder, we provide a great value in regard to price and builder specifications," says Corbett McCallum, area manager for William Ryan Homes Arizona, Inc. "We really pride ourselves on energy efficiency and our push to be a green builder."
Power Ranch Celebrates 3,000th Buyer
Power Ranch celebrates a milestone as its 3,000th buyer has moved into the community. The 1,414-acre planned community, located at Power and Germann roads, opened in 2000 and will feature 5,200 residential units when completed. The 3,000th buyer, Skyler Horine, is a former Chandler resident. Horine purchased a Richmond American home in The Villages neighborhood.
Power Ranch features 200-plus acres of open space and greenbelts that include 110 acres of turf, 25 central neighborhood and greenbelt parks and a 10-acre soccer complex. There is also a 26-mile trail system that connects 11 neighborhoods with myriad amenities.
Power Ranch features two community clubhouses-the 4,000-square-foot ranch house featuring a swimming pool, kids' play pool and basketball and sand volleyball courts surrounded by a 7.5-acre park; and The Barn, a 7,000-square-foot facility situated in the 7.3-acre trailside community park with a resort pool and picnic pavilions. Each clubhouse has a catch-and-release fishing lake with lakeside trails.
Currently, five homebuilders-D.R. Horton, Element Homes, Richmond American, T.W. Lewis and Trend Homes-offer nine new home collections ranging from 1,281 to 4,008 square feet and priced from the $150,000s.
Shea Homes Introduces New Technology
Shea Homes Arizona announced a partnership with LiTera to offer new Shea home buyers an innovative variety of new technology and security solutions. Shea Home owners can now communicate, view and access security systems and any internet enabled device anytime, anywhere with options that give customers access and control of technology from their phone, TV or computer.
Shea Homes rolled out these packages at a few new communities with Entrada at Vistancia in Peoria acting as the main hub for personal demonstrations. Homes in these communities offer buyers access to home technology and security controls through an integrated web-based portal, which is located within the home. The portal allows the homeowner to control functionality inside and outside the home, whether they are at home, away on business or enjoying a vacation.
Shea Homes began conducting research nearly three years ago to determine which technologies were most important to their buyers and together with LiTera, developed a variety of technology packages that are designed to enhance the home buyer's lifestyle while providing peace of mind through added security benefits.
T.W. Lewis Ranks Highest In J.D. Power Report
T.W. Lewis is the top-rated builder in Phoenix for new home design and new home quality, according to the 2008 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study by J.D. Power & Associates. This is the second consecutive year T.W. Lewis achieved the top rating for new home design. In terms of overall customer satisfaction, T.W. Lewis ranks third highest out of 32 builders in the metropolitan Phoenix market.
In terms of new home design, T.W. Lewis scored highest with 880 points above the Phoenix average of 785. In new home quality, T.W. Lewis scored highest with 855 points, well above the Phoenix average score of 791.
At the heart of the J.D. Power survey is the overall customer satisfaction study. This comprehensive survey measures home buyer satisfaction with 32 Phoenix-area new homebuilders based on nine factors that drive overall satisfaction: builder's sales staff; builder's warranty/customer service staff; workmanship/materials; price/value; home readiness; construction manager; recreational facilities provided by the builder; builder's design center and location. The overall average customer satisfaction index score for Phoenix is 783, and T.W. Lewis' score of 861 was the third highest score for a Phoenix builder.
Mattamy Introduces New Designs at Circle Cross Ranch
Mattamy Homes is introducing three new home designs at Circle Cross Ranch in Queen Creek, located off Gary Road, north of Hunt Highway between Skyline and Empire roads, where the homebuilder currently has 166 home sites remaining. Altogether, Mattamy Homes is building 242 new single-family homes in two phases at Circle Cross Ranch.
Within little more than a year, 54 new homeowners moved into a new Mattamy home and 22 more will be closing on a home soon, says Carolyn Morrison, vice president of operations at Mattamy Homes in Phoenix.
The three new home designs were the result of home buyer and customer feedback. "It's essential to listen and learn what's important to our customers besides affordability," says Morrison. "We listened to home buyers shopping Mattamy's existing model homes and along with homeowner feedback created our three new designs with larger bedrooms, double master bedroom closets and open living areas."
SaddleBrooke Ranch Welcomes New Homeowners
With four decades of building exceptional award-winning communities for growing generations of active adults, Robson Resort Communities took advantage of the majestic beauty of the Catalina Mountains by making them the backdrop for its newest development: SaddleBrooke Ranch.
Now, SaddleBrooke Ranch is welcoming its first homeowners. A couple relocating from El Paso, Texas, are the first to move into this fabulous new community. "We're very happy about it," says Tom Knitz. "Robson Communities is such a quality organization. We are very excited about moving to SaddleBrooke Ranch." He and wife Pat credit the entire SaddleBrooke Ranch team for their positive home buying experience.
SaddleBrooke Ranch offers nine model homes, ranging from 1,665 to 2,808 square feet, designed specifically for the community. The homes feature an emphasis on outdoor living, front courtyards and unexpected spaces.
Supplier Scoop
Visador Launches New Website
Coffman Stairs by Visador has launched a newly redesigned website to make it easier for homeowners, builders, installers, architects and Coffman Stairs dealers to obtain high-quality stair parts, and to provide easy-to-use tools to design unique stairways.
The new website, www.coffmanstairs.com, offers a step-by-step guide to help homeowners plan and design the best stairway for their home. A comprehensive product section details each product category and provides color photos of each product profile, as well as easy access to a full stair parts list.
