NAHB International Builders Show

On 21st January 2020 a team of New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) Members travelled to the USA to visit the NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) held at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, as well as builder visits in Nevada and California. The 2020 Builders’ Show brought together more than 1,400 top manufacturers and suppliers from around the globe in 183,000 net square metres of exhibit space, showcasing the latest and most in-demand products and services. Over 80,000 people attended the NAHB IBS Exhibition, which made the NZCB Conference and Expo seem tiny in comparison (we only had 750 people attend our conference in 2019, with a floor space of 2,000 net square metres of exhibit space). The massive range of exhibits on offer was both exciting and daunting. The USA definitely gets more variety of products than what’s available in New Zealand (NZ). To get an idea of the size of the expo, on the first day the NZCB Members were clocking up an average of a 10kms just to get around the venue. The design trends on display for their new home building and remodelling weren’t really that different from NZ. The noticeable difference was size. They generally offer one bathroom per bedroom (i.e. 4 bedrooms generally offers 3.5 bathrooms; 3 bedrooms offers 2.5 bathrooms). No worries about water shortages in the USA! Lots of emphasis on high studs, big doors and the feeling of space.

TRI Pointe Homes, Irvine, California. An indication of the size of the buildings and the amount of builds on the go at any one time.

On the first day of the expo, NZCB Members were clocking up an average of 10kms just to get around the venue.

Sales presentation software was also something that we don’t see a lot of in NZ, but there were many options to choose from at the expo. The one thing the USA did very well was their ‘sales pitch’. The level of presentation for the home buyer was outstanding.

After the NAHB IBS Exhibition, the NZCB Members did a group home builder tour with Pardee Homes. Pardee Homes is a leading builder of new homes in Inland Empire, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego. The presentation of their show homes was amazing. The quality of their workmanship not so much, but the main difference being the marketing. The main focus being that they were building ‘homes’, with a big emphasis on community living. We also visited another group home builder in Los Angeles – TRI Pointe Homes. Again, their focus was about creating neighbourhoods that enhance lives. Marketing was the key focus and plenty of market research had been done to understand how the millennial generation were living. Multi-storey living was popular, with ground level gardens being replaced by roof-top outdoor living spaces – BBQ’s being on the roof! Homes were also being built to accommodate three generations of a family, with placement of the elderly being on the ground floor. In the coming months I will be interviewing the other NZCB Members who were on the USA tour and I will share their experiences with you.