In the movie “Field of Dreams” the phrase was ‘If you build it, he will come.’ For home builders today, it’s not a statement but a question: If you build it, will they come?
Some area luxury builders think so. Seventeen of them are participating in this year’s Chicago Luxury Home Tour, showcasing properties in the north and west suburbs that cost more than $1 million each on the belief that one browser will turn into a buyer and others might order up their own homes. And with attendance at 8,000 last year, there should be browsing aplenty.
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In a price bracket where a company is happy if it sells three to four homes a year, houses on the tour are designed to show off a builder’s ability because they are filled with all the bells and whistles. But they also serve another purpose in the current economy: they are proof of a builder’s wherewithal.
“We made our name as a spec builder in this market,” said Steve Aisen of Heritage Luxury Builders. “We need a presence, we need inventory if people come looking.”
Among the specs under way for Heritage is a $3.975 million Winnetka home on the tour with more than 10,000 square feet of living space, six fireplaces, seven bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and three half baths.
That sounds like an eyeful and certainly will give some show attendees an opportunity to see how the other half lives, so to speak. But Aisen, like other builders on this year’s tour, says the over-the-top nature of luxury homes in past years is out.
“We’ve probably toned down our style and our look,” Aisen said. “People’s tastes are less favorable to the glitz and glamor and more for the subtle livability of it.”
For Heritage, that means moving away from the stone castles it was associated with to brick exteriors.
For Siena Custom Builders, it means relying on “casual elegance” for a four-bedroom, 5 1/2 -bath home in Naperville that includes an indoor sports court.
“The economy has changed some things, obviously, but when we’re going into the luxury home tour, there’s some things it has to have which drives the price. And the size drives the price,” said Siena’s Darin Grubisic. “There’s still people doing somewhat well.”
In fact, because of all the bonus features put into the 6,200-square-foot home, Siena’s original price of $2.175 million was raised to $2.265 million.
In Geneva, Steve Lane of Lane Custom Homes isn’t showing off and hoping to sell a spec home. Instead, he’s showcasing the home he built for himself 1 1/2 years ago.
Now, he’s got the $3.29 million home, with five bedrooms, six full and two half baths, in the show and listed for sale because he wants to try some new techniques by building a new home for himself nearby.
Lane does see customer tastes changing but says it’s unrealistic to think that the trend of doing more with less house means tossing out the trappings of luxury.
Instead, he sees the notion of “if you’ve got it, flaunt it” being replaced with something more politically correct, like rational exuberance. It won’t happen overnight, he thinks. People won’t be caught up so much in a home’s square footage as how it feels.
“Resetting customer’s expectations take some time,” Lane said. “You’re going to see less showiness and more ‘let’s make it better, so we can use it, not to impress our friends.’ There’s high-end finishes and the house is large looking but it’s not like ‘look at me, I’m special.’ Today it’s not P.C. to be showy.”
The 6th annual Chicago Luxury Home Tour will be conducted Sept. 11-13, 18-20 and 25-27. For more information, go to chicagohometour.com.
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