Building on a Trend

At 61, Steve Dobscheutz and his wife are finally breaking ground in Ashwaubenon on a dream they’ve had for years: an enormous new kitchen and dining space with all the bells and whistles. Rather than build a new home, they’re expanding the one they have.

“Custom cabinets and counter tops, a new roof line and patio, and even hardwood floors in our living room,” Steve says, laughing to think they eagerly anticipate the massive and messy undertaking. “We’re debt-free, we love our neighborhood and the house we’re in, so why would we want a new mortgage? Remodeling is the perfect solution for us.”

The Dobscheutzes are part of a growing trend in Northeast Wisconsin as more homeowners in these economically challenging times forgo new construction for home improvement projects.
It’s a trend that is likely to continue in spite of some encouraging news from the U.S. Commerce Department that the number of new homes being built nationwide increased by more than 7 percent from February to March.

In Northeast Wisconsin, home builders are accommodating this new breed of customers in ways they may not have thought about a decade ago. This past winter, both the Valley Home Builders Association and the Brown County Home Builders Association decided to try something new: a “parade” of homes tour showcasing existing homes that have been remodeled.

Beyond the showroom

The first-ever Tour of Remodeled Homes in Brown County last January came about in part because so many people expressed an interest in building equity in their current homes.

“We knew our tour would be popular, but to make sure it was well attended we piggybacked the event to follow the Home Expo at the KI Convention Center and those attendees could take the tour for free,” says Steve Huben, president of the Brown County Home Builders Association and owner of Custom Kreations, Inc.

“Customers were very excited about it, and so were the builders. We’re definitely going to expand this event for next year,” Huben adds.

The tour featured 13 homes throughout Brown County, which included additions and remodeled master suites, mudrooms, sunrooms, kitchens and more. Many homes featured refurbished exteriors as well.

Builder Scott Puyleart of Puyleart Brothers Homes contracted three of the tour’s projects. He points to the changing economy as the catalyst for a shift in how his industry is adapting to customers’ needs.

“We have seen a significant change in the percentage of renovations we’re doing these days versus new home construction projects, so the Tour of Remodeled Homes was something that consumers really wanted,” says Puyleart, who contracted three of the 13 remodeled homes on the tour. One of his eight featured suppliers included Lucas Beck, who, along with his father, is co-owner of Beck’s Quality Cabinets, Inc.

“The people were not only impressed with the visual examples shown in a real home, but were excited to see the variety of small and large projects we’re able to do,” says Beck, who continues to get calls from the event. “We used to do 80 percent of our business in new construction and 20 percent in home improvement. Now with new construction down, those percentages are reversed with 80 percent of our business focused on remodeling.”

Renovating the Valley

The adapt-or-die approach to the home construction market is also sweeping the Fox Cities, as more builders take an innovative look at how to market their expertise within the four walls of established homes. In March, the Valley Home Builders Association took a similar strategy to the Brown County association by pairing its newly created Parade of Remodeled Homes event with the Home Expo.

“We had taken a survey of customers, and interest in doing this was overwhelmingly positive,” says event chairman Mike Gibbons of GTS Construction.

A remodel home tour is a very different animal from the annual new home construction parades VHBA president JP Jedwabny oversees.

“These customers on the Remodeled Homes tour are more serious about wanting to start a project within three to six months, and aren’t just looking for decorating ideas,” says Jedwabny, who has worked for his family’s business J&S Homes, Inc., since high school. He has seen housing starts in the Fox Valley decrease from 1,038 in 2004 to 371 last year.

“Our whole industry has seen a lot of change. Five years ago, our company was focused 100 percent in new construction. Now we’re about 50/50 in our ratio of new construction to remodel projects.”