Build or Buy: Think Hard About Building

Searching for a new home is frustrating when you can’t find a newly-finished home you like in a new community. Or, you’re not finding ANYTHING — new or in resale — that floats your boat. Take it as a sign it might be time to build your own. “Wait,” you …

Answers to Why on Earth You’d Want to Move to Florida

The problem with moving to Florida is that inevitably, some folks will think that’s not a good idea. And they have no compunction about telling you. Never mind if you must move to Florida because (A) your boss says so, (B) your in-laws or parents have promised to babysit every day …

The Here, Now and Future of Smart Homes

Intrigued about a smart home? Do you want your new custom Florida home to be equipped with the latest remote-controlled, digital and electronic capabilities? Smart homes are one of the hottest trends in the home-building industry, but like any trend, they come with many options, cautions and positives. The technology …

ICI Homes Featured in St. Augustine Record – Home Designs for Aging in Place

Don Wilford, Northeast Florida division president of ICI Homes, said with the Baby Boomer generation so active in the new home market, it’s important for builders to give them options to suit their needs now and into the future. Those options can range from something as significant as an elevator to something as simple as a walk-in shower.

Have Info, Will Buy: Millennials’ Influence on Homebuilding Industry

Over the last 100-plus years, each generation of U.S. home buyers has exhibited specific preferences and behaviors when buying and selling their homes. Millennials — generally thought of as folks who reached early adulthood in the early 2000s — are no different. Like Baby Boomers and Generation X-ers before them, …

Things You Can Do in Today’s Smart Homes

So you’ve decided to go all-in with a new custom smart home, and you want to automate it like the alternate reality of your favorite science-fiction novel. Just think — inanimate objects will spring into action at the sound of your voice while a robot pours your morning coffee. We …

What Millennials Seek in a Home Buying Experience, Part II

In Part I of our series on what Millennials seek in a home-buying experience, we discussed some non-interpersonal aspects of how this generation tends to pursue their daily lives and business. If you need a reminder, Millennials are the youngest major generation in the U.S. They achieved early adulthood in …

What Millennials Seek in a Home Buying Experience, Part I

Are you a prospective Millennial home buyer or know someone who is? In the U.S., Millennials are today’s youngest signature generation. Their spending power, cultural influence and priorities are impacting how many industries conduct business nowadays, and the home-building industry is no different. Millennials, by definition, are those who began …

Behind the Walls in Today’s Smart Homes

Since more of us than you’d think might have difficulty figuring out why we should want to remotely activate our washing machine via a command from our smart phone, let’s take a look behind the scenes at what makes smart homes, well, smart. We see you, all you folks who …

‘Pet-Friendly’ a Big Consideration for Millennial Home Buyers

According to a recent National Association of Realtors report, millennials — defined by the report as adults age 36 or younger — comprise the largest group of today’s U.S. home buyers, at 34 percent.

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