Real Estate Wire/Green Trends News Wire

LAS VEGAS - Avid® Ratings and Kohler Co. are collaborating to offer marketing assistance toward Avid’s award-winning GoTour™ home virtualization system to home builders using all KOHLER® plumbing products.  An online and mobile app allowing home buyers to conduct self-guided video tours of a home for sale in high definition (HD), GoTour is designed to bridge the new home sales process with today’s widespread consumer demand for an online shopping experience.  The program expands a previous pilot program conducted by Avid Ratings and Kohler, which produced increased options sales for both Kohler and its builder partners.  “GoTour is the first online home virtualization system that combines virtual fly-throughs of a home with product option browse and selection capability, and verified customer reviews of a builder and the products featured,” said Paul Cardis, CEO and founder of Avid Ratings, the full-service customer engagement and loyalty management firm specializi...

LAS VEGAS - -The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today named Karen Benner, director of architecture for The Neighborhoods of EYA, as the 2015 Best in Green (BIG) Young Professional of the Year. The award was given at the Best in Green Awards event held today during the International Builders' Show. The annual award recognizes up-and-coming green and sustainable professionals in the building industry. Nominated by the Maryland Building Industry Association, Benner was honored for her dedication to the advancement of sustainable green building practices. She inspires others to get involved by holding the seat as Green Building Council President of Maryland BIA. With an advanced architectural engineering degree, LEED AP credential and Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation, Benner pioneered the green building strategy at EYA, leading the company to certify nearly 1,000 green homes in the past five years. "Karen is a true leader in the green and sustaina...

By MIKE BONTS LAS VEGAS - Sweden’s Bluewater launched a new range of second generation residential water purifiers at 2016 Kitchen and Bathrooms Show in Las Vegas that address consumer concerns about tap water quality and safety. “Bluewater’s latest point-of-use Spirit and Pro water purifiers harness unique, patented new-generation SuperiorOsmosis™ reverse osmosis technology, which is designed to remove practically all waterborne contaminants, including microorganisms and toxic metals such as the lead plaguing the residents of Flint, Michigan,” said Mr. Niclas Wullt, Bluewater managing director. Designed to fit under a kitchen sink, the compact, contemporary Bluewater Spirit and Pro water purifiers address consumer concerns about contaminants in drinking water, including lead, chlorine, pesticides and herbicides, prescription drugs and detergents. Clare Controls Introduces Smart Home Display for Design Centers To help builders take control of the home technology sales proces...

By MIKE BONTS LAS VEGAS — Carrier has introduced the Carrier® Côr™ smart home automation system at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Buiders Show (IBS). The system is designed with the flexibility and low cost  that Carrier thinks homebuilders will appreciate.  The Côr home automation system, which enables homeowners to secure, control and remotely manage their home’s most critical systems from an intuitive mobile app, will be available later this year.  It builds on Carrier’s commitment to deliver the “heart” of a smarter home. It provides homeowners a single solution to easily connect their home’s most important systems: heating and cooling, safety and security. Once set up, users can manage connected devices, view live video of their home from connected cameras and remotely manage access from the system’s app, anywhere in the world.  With Côr home automation system enabled devices, homebuilders can leverage a tool that merg...

By MIKE BONTS LAS VEGAS - Pardee Homes, a member of TRI Pointe Group, announced the completion of the Responsive Home project, in partnership with BUILDER Magazine, to design, build and sell the ideal home for today’s young home buyers.  The two, new concept homes is being unveiled during this week’s NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) in Las Vegas.  Located in suburban Henderson, Nevada, just a few minutes away from the urban conveniences of the Las Vegas strip, the 2,145-square-foot Contemporary Farmhouse and the 3,194-square-foot Contemporary Transitional cater to Millennials’ desires for design and performance at a price point that young buyers can appreciate.  Built in partnership with architect Bassenian Lagoni; landscape architects, AndersonBaron; along with celebrity interior designer Bobby Berk, the project’s Creative Director and fellow Millennial; the Responsive Homes maximize new home owners’ financial investment by increasing the longevity of th...

By MIKE BONTS REAL ESTATE WIRE LAS VEGAS -  New technology that helps builders and contractors is a major theme of this years NAHB International Builders Show (IBS) being held in Las Vegas this week. Builders increasingly expect software solutions that integrate with their existing systems. As such, technology providers continue to come to market with new solutions and partnerships. BuilderMT recently announced its interoperability with seven other software vendors in the mid-market home builder market.  BuilderMT’s WMS (Workflow Management Suite) is an end-to-end workflow automation and integration package intended to link builders’ existing software solutions for CRM (customer-relationship management) and sales, BIM (building information modeling), estimating, purchasing, scheduling, supply chain management, warranty, accounting, and builder portals. BuilderMT’s include Avid Ratings, CG Visions, Hyphen Solutions, Punchlist Manager, Sales Simplicity, and Western C...