Arizona-based Taylor Morrison, the nation's fifth-largest homebuilder and developer, has made shopping for, buying, and even designing a new home—all without leaving the sofa—a reality for its clients, thanks to its launch of a new digital configuration and reservation system for to-be-built homes.
"Today's consumers crave ease and simplicity, whether they're purchasing a car, groceries, or a new home online—this new tool takes the friction out of homebuying," said Taylor Morrison Chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer. "As the first homebuilder to offer the capability to customize and purchase a new construction home digitally, Taylor Morrison continues to create an elevated shopping experience and propel our industry into the future. We recognize, however, that today's remarkably strong housing market is not without its challenges and our teams continue to navigate this environment while thoughtfully executing on our forward-thinking strategic vision."
With Taylor Morrison's new digital to-be-built reservation system [1], customers are guided to choose a floor plan, select a home site using an interactive map, choose from a variety of customizable exterior elevations, then reserve the home of their dreams entirely online. This new tool also complements innovative technology the homebuilder unveiled in 2020, including countless 3D virtual tours, self-guided tours, and an online shopping cart feature to reserve completed or under-construction showcase homes—which Taylor Morrison customers have secured more than 1,500 of to date, the company reports.
Houston resident Kristen Milburn had been shopping for a new home for three months when she came across Taylor Morrison's digital to-be-built reservation system. After researching homes online, she used the tool to reserve her new home completely virtually for the homebuilder's Morgan's Landing community in La Porte, Texas.
"When shopping for a home, I had not seen anything like Taylor Morrison's reservation system," said Milburn, a first-time homebuyer. "The tool was really easy to use—we picked our homesite, floor plan, and elevation then simply reserved everything online, all in a couple of minutes. The floor plan we ended up picking was even based on online virtual tours and photos. The new digital reservation tool and website were so informative; I loved having the chance to look online and see everything, from price to virtual tours, and all in one place."
Within just 90-minutes of the digital to-be-built configuration and reservation system launching at 10 p.m. PT, a buyer in Dallas was the first customer to secure an online reservation. Since then, more than 130 reservations have come through. The new technology is available to use in nearly 25 communities across 11 divisions with expansion plans nationwide. In addition, since the onset of the pandemic, more than 600 homes have been sold entirely virtually, with no physical contact with the buyer.
Despite today's hot housing market, Taylor Morrison is committed to making the homebuying process seamless. "With demand for housing as high as it is today, this kind of revolutionary technology certainly isn't needed to sell homes, nor is it a response to the challenges of doing business amidst COVID-19," said Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Stephanie McCarty. "It is simply the way consumers prefer to shop and engage with brands in today's evolving world of eCommerce. Whether it is our self-guided tour technology, our Chatbot Liv, or the launch of our online to-be-built reservation system, our eye is keenly focused on empowering consumers to take control of their homebuying experience with thoughtful digital touchpoints at every turn."