Parade of Homes(sm) Spring Tour 2016 Opens February 20th!

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Presented by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, the Parade of Homes (sm) opens February 20th, 2016. The Parade features 459 new homes located around the Twin Cities metro area. This is the 68th year of the Parade of Homes(sm)!

The Parade runs from February 20th through March 20th – Thursdays through Sundays, noon to 6pm.

This year NIH Homes is excited to be part of the Artisan Dream Homes Benefit BATC Foundation. Our featured home is #347 located in Orono and priced at $1,695,000. Three other high end homes have been selected as Artisan Dream Homes. Visitors are asked to pay a $5 donation to tour each of these dream homes. The fee helps the charitable arm of BATC build and remodel homes for families in need.

All other homes on the tour are free to tour and guidebooks can be picked up at local Holiday Stationstores starting February 5th.

The magazine-style Guidebook showcases all of the Parade HomesSM, with graphics, descriptions, maps and prices to make shopping easy. There are a variety of interesting articles, including stories from real families who are loving their new homes (our cover “real family” story features local blogger Lindsay Truax). There is also an infographic explaining the home building process in ten easy steps.

As usual, there is a calendar of events so visitors can plan their tours to attend special events like wine tastings, design seminars and cinnamon roll Sundays. Plus Style editor, Katy Baar, shares top design and accessory trends from local designers.

This year the guidebook will also be integrated online.

The comprehensive website, www.ParadeofHomes.org, is designed to make touring for visitors even easier, and the mobile site, m.ParadeofHomes.org, gives visitors mobile-friendly access to all of the main site’s features from their smart phone or tablet. There are a wide variety of search filters online, from price to square footage to school district. Additionally, online visitors can save favorites to their own personal login and then automatically plan the best tour route with the TripPlanner (which can then be accessed from the mobile site). The entire Guidebook is viewable online in e-magazine format, plus there are a number of resources (from mortgage calculators to home maintenance information), as well as the Parade of Homes Blog to help families make informed housing decisions.

Online inspiration is enhanced with our new Photo Gallery, offering more than 5,000 home photos to browse. Visitors can also use our interactive Personal Designers to access many of this spring’s homes to change colors and finishes, and then save them to their personal Idea Gallery. This is a fun tool to use so be sure to check it out!

Prices range from affordable to luxury, you’ll be able to tour homes that are beautifully practical and homes that are stunningly extravagant. There are a total of 39 homes priced under $300,000; 75 homes priced in the $300,000s; 115 in the $400,000s; 89 in the $500,000s; 100 homes priced from $600,000 to $999,999; and 40 homes priced over $1,000,000. The total value of all homes on the tour is $270,730,516.

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities is the leading voice for builders and remodelers. BATC represents 1,100 builders, remodelers, developers and industry suppliers with a mission of helping its members grow their businesses through marketing, advocacy and industry connections. BATC is widely recognized as a powerful force at the state Legislature and with state regulatory agencies. It’s also known for its signature home tour events: The Parade of Homes℠ and Remodelers Showcase®; and now the Artisan Home Tour®, a ticketed tour featuring high-end homes in June. In addition, BATC offers Minnesota’s Green Path℠, a growing new home and remodeling energy testing and certification program providing healthy, durable, energy-efficient homes to buyers and homeowners.

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