So, why is  Fully Furnished & Finished a pilot release until January 10^th?

As an Indianapolis new home builder, and like many other organizations, we are constantly looking to better serve our homeowners and build them the home of their dreams. Our home décor store at Clay Terrace in Carmel, HOMExperience, provides us with the unique opportunity of working with homeowners throughout the full home design process - not only building their new luxury home, but furnishing it as well. This relationship presented us with a disconnect which some homeowners feel between the home they imagine themselves living in and the empty one they move in to.

We believe that we can better serve clients by providing them with a fully furnished new Estridge luxury home when they move in. But, we want to know what you think and what our homeowners think. This short pilot release allows us to get feedback from the greater Indianapolis real estate market to see how Fully Furnished homes better serves our homeowners needs. So, we invite everyone to join the conversation.

Visit www.fully.estridge.com to learn more, share your thoughts and provide feedback on how we can better serve our homeowners.
 

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released a variety of resources to assist the real estate industry including new home builders, realtors and homebuyers in better understanding the extension and expansion to the Homebuyer Tax Credit.

The most significant impacts of the new legislation are that it:

-           Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.

-           Expands the credit to grant a $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 6, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

How does this affect homebuyers? - View a Comparison Chart for details on the changes to the new Homebuyer Tax Credit.  


Additional Resources:
Learn more about the Homebuyer Tax Credit on Blog.Estridge.com.
Listen to the President's Podcast, from the NAR President.

The popular $8,000 first time buyer housing tax credit (passed by House and Senate and on its way to President Obama) proved a powerful motivator in the housing market.

However, the expansion of this housing tax credit currently on its way to approval to include a credit of $6,500 for repeat buyers provides even greater opportunity for the Indianapolis real estate market.

While the original $8,000 housing credit provided its primary benefit to first time buyers, it offered generous auxiliary benefits for repeat buyers. Second-time home buyers benefited from the incentive of the tax credit as an influencer for the purchase of their first home. The $6,500 tax credit provides that primary benefit of a home buyer tax credit, as well as the opportunity for all repeat home buyers, not only those currently in a home appealing to first time buyers. This expansion is likely to be a much greater catalyst for the real estate industry and ultimately more beneficial for new home builders, real estate professionals and homeowners.

Learn more at Builder Online.

Follow @EstridgeHomes on Twitter for more updates.

Congratulations to Estridge Custom Galleries designated the #1 Custom Home Builder in Indianapolis by the Indianapolis Business Journal, as ranked by an IBJ survey of 2008 local revenue.

Estridge Custom Galleries and Paul E. Estridge Homes design and build custom homes in neighborhoods and on your homesite throughout Central Indiana from homes valued in the upper $400,000s to multi-millions of dollars. The custom arm of The Estridge Companies has been creating custom building experiences since 1967 around Indianapolis. 

Unique, professionally decorated model homes by Estridge Custom Galleries are available for touring in

• The Village of WestClay in Carmel
• The Bridgewater Club in Westfield
• Grandin Hall in Carmel

Additionally, Estridge Custom Galleries builds custom-designed new homes in The Willows in Zionsville and on homesites around Central Indiana.

Learn more about Estridge Custom Galleries and Paul E. Estridge Homes at

www.EstridgeCustomGalleries.com.

View a photo gallery of custom homes around Indianapolis, built by Estridge.

Learn about the 2007 Paul E. Estridge Dream Home in The Village of WestClay.

Other Paul E. Estridge Home Photography

    

Greg Cradick, Estridge Custom Galleries lead architect and architect of the Extreme Makeover Indianapolis home, is helping the Residential Interior Design Studio class at IUPUI learn that education is a two-way street. While mentoring the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology students in designing homes for an Indianapolis new home builder, Cradick is also gaining understanding of what Generation Y is looking for in new home design.  

“I’m excited to work with this class,” said Cradick. “These students are really motivated and talented. And this program gives us the opportunity to see what this generation wants in a home.  We hope to inspire a holistic approach to home design,” he said.

Learn more about the IUPUI partnership with Estridge HERE.

Learn about the Estridge home design featured on the Extreme Makeover 2009 season finale in Indianapolis.

Estridge is proud to announce that customer surveys for the first half of our fiscal year report that 47% of home sales were from the referral of a current Estridge homeowners. We are honored so many Estridge homeowners are either referring Estridge as a new home builder in Indianapolis to their friends and family or building another new Estridge home.

This figure is reported in a third-party customer survey taken by Woodland, O'Brien and Associates of every new Estridge homeowner both after closing and then again on the anniversary of their closing. The referral rating of 47% greatly exceeds the national average of new home builder referral sales of 12% to 15%. Additionally, the new homeowner survey reported a 98% Willingness to Refer rating by Estridge homeowners suggesting excellent customer satisfaction and continued impressive homeowner referral sales in the future.

Of Estridge’s referral ratings, Keith O’Brien, Woodland, O’Brien & Associates Partner, states, “These are the strongest referral sales results we are seeing anywhere, and it is a testament to the company’s dedication to customer satisfaction for these many years.”  

In addition to referral rate, Estridge achieved nationally leading results in multiple areas. Customer satisfaction of production (new construction) quality reached over 96% positive ratings, greatly exceeding industry averages as well. Also standing out, was the Willingness to Refer of Estridge homeowners on their year anniversary of closing. This rating grew to 100% Willingness to Refer in those surveyed after a year of Estridge home ownership.

Estridge provides a three-year HomeLife™ Maintenance and Reliability Program, providing routine maintenance visits for three years, as well as emergency service, one of the most extensive warranty programs in the country.

“We are honored that Estridge home owners hold high regard for our company. The quality standards and processes in place at Estridge lead the country in ensuring a well-built, thoughtfully-designed home our home owners are proud to own. Growing our neighborhoods through the relationships of our home owners is ideal in creating connected communities,” states Paul Estridge, Jr., President & Chief Servant of The Estridge Companies.”  

To learn more about Estridge Homes and New Home Neighborhoods in Indianapolis, visit www.Estridge.com.
 

• Hardwood flooring throughout
• Office with custom built-in wood shelving and paneling
• Gorgeous trim details throughout
• Granite countertops in kitchen with breakfast bar island
• Custom home design offers open living areas and built-in shelving around fireplace
• Oversized windows
• Custom finished paver patio with firepit and pergola on wooded homesite
• and MUCH MORE!

Building on Matt Borushko’s 6 Tips for Buying a New Home Builder, we provided 4 additional tips that will help you confidently build your dream home.

1.)               Have Representation

2.)               Don’t Overbuild

3.)               Prioritize Your Choices

4.)               Choose Location Wisely

5.)               Financing

6.)               Have Proper Expectations

7.)              Understand how your current house fits or doesn’t fit your lifestyle.

8.)              Know your comfortable investment range, not only your pre-approval amount.

9.)              Identify components of a quality new home and new home neighborhood.

10.)         Feel comfortable.

Tip #7, understand how your current house fits or doesn’t fit your lifestyle, is provided in greater detail below.

With a new home, you have the unique opportunity to design it to truly fit your family’s lifestyle, as well as include the features and style you desire. Taking the time to think through what you like and don’t like in your current house is a crucial step in determining the right design for your new home.

What do you enjoy about your current house? Is there an outdoor living area that you will especially miss when you make your move? Does your family cozy up to a fireplace in the winter? Is there a person in your household who would benefit from a private bath? Are you looking for private space through a main level master suite?  These are features and spaces you will want to include in the design of your new home in Indianapolis.

Consider each room, the popular traffic flow, areas you wish you utilized more often and what keeps you from doing so. Are there features that would help to keep you organized that are missing, like a family foyer with storage cubes and coat hooks? If you were able to interact with your family while you were cooking, would you do more of it?

Take the time to do your research. Review floorplans online. Walk a variety of resale homes and new homes from Indianapolis builders to see how homeowners use the space in their home and consider what would be helpful in yours. Most likely, there are ways in which space is being utilized or designed that you haven’t seen, but would find helpful (for example, the PDA Pantry in many Estridge new home designs).

Create a list of your new home design priorities (not only the style of the home) and reference these as you are shopping online or visiting a builder and reviewing home designs. Browse Estridge new home designs at www.estridge.com or visit Estridge model homes for ideas.

Matt Borushko of Keller Williams in Indianapolis, recently posted “Tips for Buying a New Home from a Builder" on his Matt Sells Indy Blog. He provides 6 tips to ensure that building your new home is everything you dreamed, and not a nightmare.

Matt’s 6 tips for buying an Indianapolis new home are:

1. Have Representation
2. Don’t Overbuild
3. Prioritize Your Choices
4. Choose Location Wisely
5. Financing
6. Have Proper Expectations

Read Matt's full article here.

As a new home builder in Indianapolis for over 40 years, we see that the more prepared our new homeowners are, the more smoothly the process of choosing a new home design, personalizing the home, construction and closing on the home are. There are 4 additional hints that help new home buyers choose and build the home of their dreams.

1. Understand how your current house fits or doesn’t fit your lifestyle.
2. Know your comfortable investment range, not only your pre-approval amount.
3. Identify components of a quality new home and new home neighborhood.
4. Feel comfortable.

We are proud to announce the introduction of three (3) new Meridian Collection home designs in Estridge neighborhoods, including one main level master home design. Enjoy unique architectural stylings and custom home design details throughout. Designed by Greg Cradick, Estridge Custom Galleries Senior Architect, these new luxury homes draw on our background as an Indiana custom home builder and feature open designs, elegance and floorplan flexibility.

To learn more about these new homes and view the full design and personalization opportunities, schedule an appointment with an Estridge New Home Consultant in Centennial at 146th Street, Lincolnshire, The Reserve at Rock Bridge, Manor at Anderson Hall or The Reserve at Highland Green.

Or visit Estridge.com to learn more about the NEW Meridian Collection homes.

View all Estridge homes for sale on Estridge.com.

3785 Stonington PL
Zionsville, IN 46077
Price: $435,000
BLC: 2822907
www.tourfactory.com/443688

Estridge Community: Reserve at Rock Bridge in Zionsville, located off of CR400, west of CR875.

View Photo Tour of this luxury new home

Learn more about this Estridge 735 Meridian Collection home design

Featured Estridge Home Highlights:

• 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths + bonus room
• Large finished lower level
• Extensive custom detailing throughout lower level
• Designer kitchen with gas cooktop, double ovens and granite countertops
• Hardwood flooring
• Dual-sided fireplace with built-in shelving surrounding
• Luxurious master suite with garden tub, ceramic tile and spacious, organized walk-in closet
• Elegant brick home with arched front windows
• 3-car side-load garage 

View More Photos of this new Estridge home in Zionsville.

View all new Zionsville Real Estate by Estridge - Home Builders in Indiana.

This unique 2-story custom home design is a great addition to the Grandin Hall Designer Gallery Collection of homes. With 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths offers great flexibility in size from 3,451 to 5,208 sq. ft. the Townsend is complete with features and finishes ideal for how families live today. You can begin building your very own Townsend at Grandin Hall from $435,000.

From Estridge Custom Galleries, Indiana Custom Home Builder for over 40 years, the Designer Gallery in Grandin Hall features a variety of flexible custom home designs with open living spaces, main level master suites in some homes, designer kitchens and much more! All with the commitment to quality and attention to detail you expect from one of Indiana's finest luxury home builders.

Call the Grandin Hall team at 669.8700 to learn more today or visit the model in Carmel off of 146th St. between Gray Rd. and Hazel Dell Pkwy.

View the Townsend home design.    
Learn more about Grandin Hall.

View Grandin Hall Photo Gallery: http://www.myestridgehome.com/home/GrandinHall/

11487 Golden Willow Circle

Zionsville, Indiana 46077

$669,900

BLC: 2816474

Estridge Community: The Willows in Zionsville, model located off of 146^th Street, west of Michigan Road

View Photo Tour of this custom home design

Learn more about the Renaissance Gallery of Custom Home Designs by Estridge Custom Galleries

Feature Luxury New Home Highlights:

• 4br, 3.5 baths, full finished lower level, 3-car side-entry garage
• Incredible Homesite overlooking Eagle Lake!
• Covered porch walks out to aggregate patio on lakefront homesite
• Generous windows throughout create incredible natural light
• Main level master suite
• Soft white designer cabinets and granite countertops, plus KitchenAid appliances create a beautiful kitchen
• Open living area with built-in shelving and fireplace
• Formal dining room
• Finished lower level with wet bar, home theatre room and rec room

Learn more about Estridge Custom Galleries, Luxury Home Builders in Indiana since 1967

MyEstridgeHome.com gives every new Estridge homeowner their own personal website that they can use to share their building experience with friends and family. People considering a new Estridge home can also search homeowner photos to find ideas and see the behind-the-scenes quality of every Estridge home.

Carmel, IN October 27, 2008 – The Estridge Companies creates MyEstridgeHome.com to make it easier for homeowners to show their new home to friends and family. Each Estridge homeowner gets their own website where they can upload and share pictures of their home during construction. As photos are added the site is automatically updated to show the home’s progress. Their friends and family simply need to visit their website to see the new pictures.

“Homeowners visit the construction sites every day to watch the progress of their new home. We wanted to give them a tool to share this with their friends and family. It’s also a great tool for the Estridge team to show progress of the home construction to homeowners who are moving from out of town.” – Scott Comer, Vice President of Internal Operations

In addition to individual homeowner websites, MyEstridgeHome.com also provides the ability to search and view photos uploaded by Estridge and Estridge homeowners. This gives visitors the opportunity to see many different Estridge homes and designs, as well as see homes under construction, which isn’t often available to the public.

“MyEstridgeHome is a great tool for our homeowners, as well as those looking for a new home or even decorating ideas. With so many homebuyers beginning their search online, our goal is provide as much information as possible. Often homeowners don’t have a lot of exposure to new homes under construction, except in the neighborhoods. Our website gives them the opportunity to see the home designs at all stages – from construction to complete and fully decorated.” – Mary Catharine Grau, Director of Marketing

On MyEstridgeHome.com, web users can find over 700 pictures of Estridge model homes, homes under construction and homes available now, and more photos are added for every home that is built.

For additional information about Estridge Homes or MyEstridgeHome.com, contact Mary Catharine Grau or visit Estridge.com.

About Estridge:

The Estridge Companies is comprised of a family of companies with the sole focus of building the finest homes and neighborhoods in the Indianapolis area. Estridge was started in 1967 as a custom home builder and has built over 7,000 homes in the past 40 years. Estridge currently

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Fishers, Indiana – ranked in the top 10 as one of the Best Places to Live in America by Money Magazine.

Fishers continues to grow in popularity with residents and new home builders for many of the reasons stated by Money Magazine. Fishers boasts great schools, a strong economy with a lot of life science companies, affordable housing, great shopping and dining within the area and more. This year, a bus service began serving Fishers to downtown Indianapolis and has proven to be extremely popular by residents.

These are only some of the reasons that Fishers, located in Indiana’s Hamilton County, has received so much recognition this year:

- Top 10 Best Place to Live in America, Money Magazine

- America’s Best Place to Raise a Family, Forbes Magazine

- The Most Affordable Housing in the Nation, National Association of Home Builders

- Top 10 cities for purchasing power of salaries, Salary.com 

Congratulations Fishers!

Read the full ranking and details about Fishers from Money Magazine.

Learn more about Fishers.

Learn about Estridge Communities in Fishers:

- Anderson Hall

- Oak Hall

- Somerset Woods