Austin, Texas – April 9, 2001 Builder Homesite, Inc., the emerging builder-founded consortium for the new home market, today announced that American Heritage, ranked 72nd in the Builder 100, has signed up as the twenty-first consortium member.
Builder Homesite is backed, endorsed and driven by a consortium of the nation’s premier homebuilders and focused on improving the home selection, buying and ownership experience through the use of online technologies. BHI products are being designed to provide consortium members with the benefits of new sources of revenue from an open, un-biased new home channel, reduced technology acquisition costs and the monetization of each builders home and community assets. The 21 consortium members represent over $34 billion in gross revenue for 2000 and build over 163,000 homes in thirty states across the continental United States.
“It is very clear to us that homebuilders and homebuyers are going to be major beneficiaries of Builder Homesite consortium activities,” said Mark Ezzard, CEO of American Heritage Homes. “The Internet can provided a significant advantage to homebuilders than can exploit its potential. American Heritage Homes believes that our relationship with the BHI consortium will provide a significant long-term competitive advantage.”
American Heritage homes is a great addition to Builder Homesite consortium.” said Tim Costello, President and CEO Builder Homesite. “We are thrilled that they have joined and will soon be collaborating on the development of product s and tools the will enable the digitization of the new home lifecycle.
New Home Industry
According to Hanley Woods 2000 Builder 400 Report, the top 200 builders in the United States are responsible for over $56 billion dollars in revenue (Single Family Detached Homes) with over 320,000 closing annually. The membership of the Builder Homesite consortium dominates this list and are responsible for over 50% of the homes built by the Top 200 Builders in the United State.
PaineWebbers eBuilder Report states that builders effectively using the Internet could see profits per-home improving by up to 30% in the next ten years. Consumer use of the Internet during the home selection process is increasing–research studies show that 62% of all new homebuyers already use the web for sources of information and service. Other research has revealed that over 85% of consumers will use or plan to use the Internet to shop for homes in the next two years.
About American Heritage
American Heritage Homes was founded in 1994 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Finanical Group of Cincinnati, Ohio. American Heritage Homes has operations within Orlando, Lakeland, and Tampa Florida, with projected sales for 2001 of $150 million. The Company markets homes ranging from the low $100’s to over $400,000, covering various architectural styles and sizes.
About Builder Homesite, Inc. and NewHomeSource.com
Founded in Austin, TX in 2000 by a consortium of 32 of the nation’s largest homebuilders, Builder Homesite, Inc. (BHI) represents over 225,000 new home sales annually. BHI’s mission is to offer improved technology and marketing solutions for the new home industry. The first product by Builder Homesite is NewHomeSource.com, a consumer website offering the most comprehensive information and selection of new homes available on the Internet. Because of the extensive distribution network, more and more builders are making BHI their entry point into the Internet. By providing data to New Home Source, builders can also participate in BHI online partner channels, including Yahoo, eBay, CitySearch, Homegain, newspaper and realtor websites.
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