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DENVER, Colo. – August 9, 2010 – The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver (HBA) today announced that two of the homes entered into the 2010 Denver Parade of Homes www.ParadeofHomesDenver.com have sold before the Parade opens this Saturday, August 14.
One of the homes built by Celebrity Custom Homes at 4873 Raintree Drive in the Pradera community of Parker sold to out-of-state buyers. The purchase price is undisclosed. Celebrity’s home was listed at $1,725,000 and was entered as one of eight “Dream Homes” in the 2010 Parade. This home will not be open for viewing.
Another Parade home sold almost immediately after it was entered into the Parade. Built by D. R. Horton and located at 5202 Rialto Drive in Pradera, this home was listed at $601,000. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
Dan Verdoorn, president of Celebrity Custom Homes, said, “The buyers knew that it was a Parade of Homes’ Dream Home and that helped solidify their purchase decision. They were looking for a special home and liked the overall ‘wow’ of this house.”
Verdoorn said the home was on the market for two weeks. The Tuscan-style home has open-space views, extensive outdoor living spaces including an outdoor kitchen, multiple decks and large back patio with fireplace. The home also has a gourmet kitchen with commercial-grade appliances and a finished basement with a fireplace and wet bar.
Celebrity Custom Homes has three other homes in the Parade. One is a Dream Home in Lone Tree and listed at $1,350,000. Another home in Lone Tree is for sale at $1,442,000. The third home is in Pradera and it is listed at $1,260,000. All will be open for viewing during the Parade.
After D.R. Horton’s home sold, the company immediately entered a substitute home located at 5000 Sedona Circle in Pradera. It is listed in the Parade for $479,900 and will be open. In addition to the Pradera home, D. R. Horton has two more homes in the Parade located in Arvada and Frederick.
New Parade New Format
The 2010 Denver Parade of Homes is a new event with a new format, and it runs August 14 through Labor Day (September 6) throughout metro Denver. Entry to the Parade is free. The Parade is open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Official Guides for the Parade can be picked up at one of seven participating American Furniture Warehouse stores.
Visitors can see 57 homes in this year’s Parade and can pre-plan trips by using the website’s interactive map function. See www.ParadeofHomesDenver.com.
All the homes are new, never lived in, and offer the greatest range of prices in the Parade’s 23-year history. Prices range from $188,900 to $6.3 million.
All the homes are for sale, some are luxury custom homes, others are furnished models, or townhomes, and one features land that is available for sale to build a home. Home styles range from ranch to Colorado rustic to Tuscan, to townhome, to starter homes, to luxury custom.
The total value of all 57 Parade homes is more than $42 million. The homes are located in 21 cities throughout metro Denver from Loveland to Castle Rock, Golden to Aurora, and to Elizabeth in the southeast.
See Seven (7) Dream Homes
Within the 57 homes are seven Dream Homes all priced from $1 million to $6.3 million. The Dream Homes are custom luxury homes which are furnished, decorated and landscaped as traditional Parade homes have been in the past. Entry to see the Dream Homes is a suggested $5 donation to Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). All monies raised will benefit MDA. Donations can be made at any one of seven participating American Furniture Warehouse outlets, or online at www.ParadeofHomesDenver.com.
For more details about the 2010 Denver Parade of Homes, the builders, home descriptions and photos, locations, maps, and tour planning see www.ParadeofHomesDenver.com.
About the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver (HBA)
The HBA is a trade association representing businesses involved in the residential development, construction and remodeling industry in the eight-county Denver metro region. Members include home builders, land developers, remodelers, architects, mortgage lenders, building material suppliers and subcontractors.
Founded in 1942, the HBA is one of several hundred local home builder associations in the United States. The HBA is also affiliated with the Colorado Association of Home Builders (CAHB) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which represents more than 211,000 member firms in the United States.
For more information, call 303-778-1400 or visit www.hbadenver.com.
It's sad to see it come to this, but Newsweek was just sold yesterday by the Washington Post Company for a buck to audio tycoon Sidney Harmon of Harmon/Kardon fame. Harmon also assumed the magazine's liabilities somewhere north of $55 million.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-08-03/newsweek-losses-revealed
From the July/August issue of Chief Executive magazine's "In Fact" section, I found this interesting:
1. Number of CEOs minted by the University of California, the college that has produced the most corporate chieftains among S&P 500 corporations: 12.
2. Number (of CEOs) produced by the school of hard knocks (i.e. no college degree): 12.
According to Advertising Age, AOL plans to hire hundreds of journalists and reorganize content. See the article here:
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144334. Could this be a seachange in the journalism industry? Stay tuned.
New Report from Rasmussen: 63% prefer getting their news from print editions of newspapers rather than online versions. Oddly enough, I found this story online.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/june_2010/63_prefer_print_over_online_versions_of_newspapers
This is the shortest most direct blog I may ever write.
Call now for a free consultation to ignite your public relations and marketing.
Okay. You can email just as well. Pick one.
303-759-8989.
pr@interprogroup.com.
That's it.
Z.James Czupor is the co-founder and principal of The InterPro Group. And, he's usually this direct, but friendly, fun, intelligent, and knows of what he speaks and does.
Here's an interesting thought: Twitter seems to act more as a news medium than a social medium. According to a new study published in PC World. Here's the full story:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/195374/twitter_more_a_news_medium_than_social_network.html
In this fast-paced world it seems we race from one email to the next; one 140-character Tweet to the next; one text message to the next, and we wonder why the person at the other end doesn't "get it."
Indeed, we are sending messages, ideas, opinions, and banal short-hand, but does it all move the ball down the field toward the goal line?
Think about this hierarchy for communicating. If it's important -- talk to someone -- in person. It's still the best, most effective option for getting your thoughts across.
As you do so, ask how effective your personal communication is. Are you present with the person you're speaking to (versus thinking ahead to what else you want to say)? Are you "positive," moving the ball forward, so to speak, without an agenda? If you're entering a conversation with an agenda, chances are you're not entering the conversation with honesty.
Now take this to the next level. How is your communication when it comes to your business? Are you getting through? Are you allowing the wishes of your customers to get through to you?
Communication is not about speed. It's about effectiveness. The race is not necessarily won by the fastest runner as we learned long ago from Ecclesiastes 9:11 -- "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."
Z.J. Czupor is the co-founder and principal of The InterPro Group, a Denver-based public relations and marketing firm. "We're fast, but we chose our words wisely."
Invariably someone says, and you've all heard this, "We're in crunch time, here. We've got a small window to get this project done. What can you do for us?"
I used to sweat bullets whenever I got that question. I referred in panic to my calendar, gulped and prayed for a miracle. And, then committed to "go for it."
Not anymore.
I still like to commit to "go for it," but now I do so with the calm demeanor of James Bond about to jump off a cliff into an ocean of sharks. (kind of, sort of).
"Are you nuts?" I can hear you ask (and some would concur, but that's another subject for another day).
The difference is once you remain focused on the project's objectives and not the short timeline, you can find a way that will satisfy your client and keep your sanity in tact.
But, here's where you need to be crystal clear and communicate openly about what hallmarks need to be set for the project to be deemed a rousing success. Is it attendees? Awareness metrics? X% involvement or behavior change of audience categories?
Whatever the metric, be clear about the pros and cons, the timeline, your budget, approval trees, the competition, and other land mines. Then you can work to your most important objective.
It really doesn't matter how much time you have from project "go" to project "show." But it does matter that you are clear about the objectives. Stay focused and you won't be concerned with the shrinking calendar.
Z.J. Czupor is co-founder and principal of The InterPro Group, a Denver-based public relations and marketing firm who likes to "go for it," no matter what.
