Three weekends: CCCIA Showcase of Homes opens today
The Cape Coral Construction Industry Association’s annual Showcase of Homes opens today.
Thousands of prospective buyers are expected to visit 35 model homes from 31 area builders over the three weekends of the showcase.
Bill Johnson, executive director of the CCCIA, said the great thing about the event is that it features homes at all price points, not just for the well-to-do.
“We have homes ranging from $240,000 to $3 million. There’s a home for every price point,” Johnson said. “You can find a home that fits everyone, from a young family starting out, to that person who wants a $2.7 million home, we have them. That’s the home run for me.”
Don Vidussi, who does sales and marketing for Coral Isle Builders, said the event sets them up for the year. They may not sell at the show, but they pique people’s interest so they buy eventually, even if it takes three years.
“We’ve had people from last year’s show writing contracts. We’ll get 400 to 500 people through the doors and we keep in touch with those who have interest (about 25 percent),” Vidussi said. “The market is as strong as it’s ever been, and people want to leave the snow.”
Johnson said going to their website www.cccia.org is the best way to the builders and how to get to each model home. They have been incorporated on both a desktop and mobile format, with some very impressive features to make sure visitors don’t get lost.
“It will give them information on the home, you click on the view map button and it will immediately load the address into their smartphone navigation and take them to that model,” Johnson said.
Most of the homes are in the southern part of the city, which Johnson said has traditionally been model row. There are some north of Pine Island Road as the city has begun to grow.
Johnson said the CCCIA tracks the numbers and that most of the builders with model homes end up selling homes as a result of the event.
“We love to see our members succeed at selling homes and look to give the tools to the public to help them find these homes,” Johnson said.
Vidussi said he has sold the model home, and believes one of them, “The Diamond,” will sell at the showcase, as the models are given special attention.
“We put every bit of frosting on them. Our people are good at color and knowing what people like, so they’re attractive,” Vidussi said. “We end up doing all kinds of extra stuff for the Showcase of Homes.”
The Showcase of Homes is Jan. 20-22, 27-29, and Feb. 3-5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.