As the 2006 fiscal year comes to a close, industry professionals begin to set their sites on 2007's economic outlook. So far the prediction has been bleak at best. With national housing leader's sales and housing starts down across the board, the industry is finally coming to terms with the slowing market ahead. The year of 2007 will prove to be a make or break year for many builders on the cutting edge of the industry. In order to stay competitive in a slowing market, new strategies must be uncovered to help leverage current market share. However, the most successful companies in 2007 will not only find a way to maintain their market strength they will be creative enough to increase it. It is with that notion that we usher in the new year with a new strategy and a new outlook on how we sell homes.

For most of the top 100 builders, the past several years have been filled with a tremendous amount of growth and an ever increasing bottom line. A successful year has been determined by the number of new housing starts with each year containing more than the last. With the slowdown in the housing market, builder's attentions must be altered from a strategy of more homes to one of more value per home. Ensuring that each home built achieves maximum sales potential is crucial towards making sales targets in the year ahead. As such, home and condo builders alike must rethink their selling strategies and implement new ones that focus on the importance of this concept.

The new homes option market is a very lucrative and profitable one, however up until recently options were seen as an after thought by most builders. For the upcoming fiscal period, new home options sales are going to weigh more heavily than ever before. With that being said, a priority must be placed upon increasing options sales across all homes.

One of the main reasons new home purchasers limit their options selections is that they simply do not see the value in the options being offered. Most can not make the connection between money spent and benefits gained. To break past this, new home builders must ensure that both cost and value are presented in meaningful terms that make sense to a new home purchaser. For example, instead of listing an option as a lump sum cost, break the cost down in terms of mortgage impact. A $2500 kitchen cabinet upgrade looks a lot more enticing with a list price of $5.75 per month. To further stress the benefits of an options upgrade, list the estimated resale value of the option being purchased. Purchasers are much more likely to spend the extra $2500 on their mortgage if they can see the benefits come the time of resale.

Another strategy for increasing the sale of new home options is to contrast the value spent versus the costs saved. With the ever increasing cost of electricity and gas, home owners have begun to place an increased importance upon energy conservation. As such, new home purchasers have become smarter in their choices of building materials demanding newer and more effective energy saving products. Capitalize on this increased interest by showing the savings in costs per year on energy efficient products. For instance, if you're selling installation with an r value of X costing x amount of dollars more than your traditional installation, consumers are much more likely to purchase the more expensive installation if they can visually see that the increased R value results in a savings of X amount of dollars per year. Once a consumer is better able to rationalize the cost of a product they are then more likely to invest in its benefits.

Many consumers fail to purchase a significant amount of options due to none other than lack of product knowledge. When it comes to product selection it simply boils down to a lack of product know how and genuine unawareness of product benefits. To combat this, insure that your new home purchasers have the information that they need in order to make an informed and educated decision. This education can come in many forms from online product information on the company website, to design center kiosks containing in depth product benefits and features. Which ever route you choose, ensure that the consumer is given the necessary information that he or she requires.

Currently, new option upgrade sales account for only x percent of the total sale of a home. In the new marketplace of 2007, builders must find a way to increase the percentage to successfully increase market share and net profits. By informing your consumers about the benefits of upgrading their options, you have taken the first step in the shift towards an options valued strategy.

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