Home Idea Showcase debuts May 16-17

There have been plenty of home shows in Branson over the years, but lakes-area members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield are particularly excited about the Home Idea Showcase May 16-17.

HBA Operations Manager Charlyce Ruth said the event at the Branson Convention Center will be the first spearheaded by HBA since the group expanded its charter to include the Branson area about two years ago.

While the show will give lakes-area residents a chance to see what's new and notable in the home-building market, it also gives HBA the chance to show potential members what HBA is all about, Ruth said.

The inaugural event will feature about 115 vendors from the greater Springfield area and Barry, Stone and Taney counties.

"People who come to the show are going to see some fantastic booths and learn about some really neat products," Ruth said.

Steve Welko's company, S. Welko Construction Inc. in Kimberling City, is among the vendors participating in the show.

Welko, who's been a member of the HBA for about five years, says he plans to promote his single-story, 72-unit condominium development, Villas at Branson Hills. The development - built in association with Epcon Communities Franchising Inc. in Dublin, Ohio - features a pinwheel design that allows for a sense of privacy while accommodating those who prefer a condo lifestyle, Welko said.

Along with all exterior maintenance and landscaping, amenities include a heated swimming pool, a clubhouse with a kitchen and community room, a lounge featuring a pool table and a 52-inch television, and a putting green.

Having the HBA show in Branson will allow Welko to market the development to precisely the demographic he's looking for: tourists who would someday like to retire in the lakes area.

"A tourist probably would not drive up to Springfield and go to the home show, because if they're here on vacation and they're having fun," they'd be unlikely to drop everything and go, Welko said. "But if it's right here in Branson, it's an event, it's entertainment, it's something for them to do."

HBA Executive Officer Matt Morrow notes that market challenges facing Branson are vastly different from those in Springfield, even though the cities are only a half-hour apart.

Branson's key challenges, for example, are high demands for vacation and work-force housing.

"Those are certainly different than the ones faced in the greater Springfield area, and that's actually a very good thing," Morrow says. "That means that, from an economy standpoint, there often may be demand in one place when demand in another is waning and vice versa."

For Jan Stahle, general manager of Harry Cooper Supply's Branson location, the Home Idea Showcase presents an opportunity to spread the word about his company's showroom, opened in 2006. The company has had a Branson store for 13 years, but reaching potential customers is still important.

"A lot of people down here in the tri-lakes area still come into our showroom and say, 'Oh, we didn't know you had a place here.' So we try to get as much exposure as we can down here," Stahle said.

At the show, he plans to feature green kitchen products, such as a touchless faucet and saltless water softener.

Ruth expects many of the showcase's attendees to be prowling for ideas to fix up the homes they have now, rather than looking for ideas for building a new home.

"There are wonderful things you can do to your home to keep it fresh," she said. "We're obviously in a market that people aren't moving as quickly right now. ... The houses are still moving, but a lot of people are taking this opportunity to update their homes, so they can do a lot of research on what types of updates should they be doing, what products are available."[[In-content Ad]]