Model Home Visitors Not Always Buyers

Home owners who are satisfied with their current dwelling and have no plans to move are visiting open houses and model homes for interior design tips, to get ideas for new amenities, and just to see how their home stacks up.

"I just like to look for anything that strikes me,” says Danny Vaca or Norco Hills, Calif., as he strolls through a $1 million-plus KB Home model in Sienna Ridge. “Our basic interior is done, but you always see these little knick-knacks that make you think, 'Hmm.' "

Some in the industry say that as many as 90 percent of model-home visitors aren’t really interested in buying, although others say the figure is actually lower because sometimes people who say they're just looking are really in the early stages of home shopping.

Home builders are well aware that looky-loos visit their model homes; it’s part of doing business, they say. Some builders even use looky-loos to their advantage by closely watching the visitors for clues about what features appeal to them and what might turn off prospective buyers.

Randall Lewis, executive vice president of the Lewis Group of Cos., pops into model homes several weekends a year just to eavesdrop as visitors critique floorplans and make comments. Why?

"To see where they spend their time, which rooms capture their attention and to hear their feedback," he says. "Model homes are a great laboratory for anybody in the business."

Source: Los Angels Times, Dawn Bonker (08/27/06)