The Homebuilder’s Association of Greater Springfield celebrates 60 years since its charter in 1954, and for 60 years it’s been hosting an annual Parade of Homes.
“The parade is the first thing we did,” said Charlyce Ruth, chief executive officer for the HBA.
The annual Parade of Homes, June 20-22 and 27-29, is an open house event featuring constructed homes from area builders that have been landscaped and decorated using products from local businesses. Even if you aren’t in the market for a new home, Ruth said, it’s a great way to get ideas for your existing house.
Sixty years ago, the parade featured just one house, a collaboration by several builders. This year there will be 14 homes as builders scramble to finish exteriors and landscaping, delayed by rain.
The HBA Parade of Homes magazines for this summer’s event, June 20-22 and 27-29, are being delivered today and as a preview will be available at these locations: The Carpet Shoppe, Herrman Lumber Company, The Light House Gallery, Maschino’s or Meek’s. You can also find it online at www.springfieldhba.com.
New this year are a ticketing system and a mobile maps app. Both are free.
The app — available through app stores on Apple and Android systems when you search for “parade craze,” or from a link on the HBA Springfield website — will give parade-goers a map to homes, more photos of the homes and a place to share comments, which are helpful to the builders.
Ruth said the HBA hopes the app will in particular help people find the homes. It’s been a problem, Ruth said, when people put the house address into their GPS and mobile maps systems for directions. But most new homes are on acreage or on a lot in a neighborhood that hasn’t been mapped yet.
“So they drive around aimlessly lost,” Ruth said.
Parade-goers can also reserve a ticket through the app. Or they can do it online from a link at springfieldhba.com. Tickets must be secured and presented to visit the houses. If you haven’t reserved one before the parade, you can do it at the first house visited.
Reserving a ticket also enters visitors to a grill giveaway.
“This is our only way to truly track how many people are going to the parade homes,” Ruth said.
That way they can tell home builders how many people visited a house each day. And if it’s busy, parade-goers may not have time to talk to the builder. With the app, they can share feedback and comments, which is important to builders, Ruth said.
The HBA of Greater Springfield is a member of the National Association of Home Builders with headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is home to approximately 400 members, representing builders, developers, remodelers and associates in all areas of the residential construction and housing industries.
Parade of Homes
This year’s HBA Parade of Homes is 1-6 p.m. June 20-22 and 27-29.
Find and download a maps app, Parade Craze, at an Apple or Android app store to help you find the homes, or find a link at http://www.springfieldhba.com/category/shows/parade-of-homes/
Tickets are required for this year’s Parade of Homes. They are free and can be reserved through the app, through www.springfieldhba.com or at the first home visited.
For more information call 881-3711.
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