Housing Giants - October 10, 2008 - (Page 25)

“The model sets the standard for what we deliver,” says Weiner. “No model is allowed to grand open until it passes our inspections. Any changes we require, the franchisee is contractually obligated to make. By the time the model is installed, we — and the franchisee — are very confident that model will facilitate selling houses. It’s not an adversarial process; we all want the same thing.” Hanrahan is now making big changes in the model home process, moving from models that show a lot of options and upgrades to new ones that are finished mostly with materials and products included in base prices. The changes are intended to move Rutenberg toward lower price points. “You’ll see us moving more toward the $600,000 to $700,000 range rather than $1 million and up, which is where a lot of our models were a year ago,” Hanrahan says, “We want to avoid sticker shock and get our models closer to the pricing of an average home in the community.” Design director Tom Kruempelstaedter, who’s been churning out Rutenberg’s house plans for more than 25 years, is already well into work on the product lines for Atlanta and Charlotte. Meanwhile, Alan Weiner says he’s close to signing tHE stats arthur Rutenberg Homes 2008 Giant 400 rank: 63 2007 closings: Type………… SFD Units……… ….446 2007 Revenues: Housing………….$385.6 million current operations: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina strategy: Previously sold franchises to builders only in Florida, but now plans to leapfrog to Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; and the coastal resort markets of both Carolinas. the first ARH franchisees in both of those markets. In Atlanta, we could soon see a battle for design leadership between Art Rutenberg and Atlanta’s own John Wieland, which means neither of those home building legends will ever retire. “We’re going to Atlanta,” says Art Rutenberg, “because the builders there need us.” HG www.Housinggiants.com 10.10.08.Housing giants 25 http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/index.asp?layout=giants http://www.jwhomes.com http://www.jwhomes.com http://www.housinggiants.com

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