Visitors to the 2026 BIA Parade of Homes this month will experience a new approach to showing off new homes.
Home shoppers can go online to plan their own tour of the newly built homes during the event.
The home showcase is also happening in more than one area and you don't need a ticket.
WOSU’s Debbie Holmes spoke with Tod Bowen, executive director of the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio, about what you can experience.
Debbie Holmes: Explain the new approach to highlight the examples of home building excellence in the region.
Tod Bowen: The BIA Parade of Homes runs this month, Sept. 17 through the 27. We are excited, the amazing opportunity for central Ohio consumers is to get the opportunity to visit up to 51 homes built by 21 different builders in 19 different communities all throughout central Ohio, in communities from London to Granville and Grove City to Sunbury and everywhere in between. Tickets are free. You don't even need a ticket. You could go to BIAParade.com. You can plan out your parade, see homes in your neighborhoods, see homes that interest you. Just what an amazing opportunity to check out some really great homes and some great builders in central Ohio.
Debbie Holmes: So, you could go see all 51 homes if you have the time?
Tod Bowen: You absolutely could.
Debbie Holmes: And I understand the homes vary in price because sometimes these models can be very, very expensive.
Tod Bowen: That's another great point, Debbie. Not only are they diverse geographically, but they are also diverse in type of home, in price point of home. There are some row homes in Worthington that are kind of a unique new way to have some attainable housing that started in the $350,000 range, up to some beautiful $3 million homes in Jerome Township and New Albany and other central Ohio communities. And we even have some 55-plus type patio homes. And we even have some multi-family homes, some lifestyle communities in this year's parade as well, so great diverse homes for folks to see.
Debbie Holmes: Before there would be a specific site for the Parade of Homes with maybe a dozen or so newly built homes for visitors to see. Is this more difficult to do today?
Tod Bowen: So, a couple of things that changed, certainly it was kind of coming out of COVID that this approach changed. So, this is what's referred to in the industry as a "scattered site" approach. And what's great for consumers is it allows them to see so many homes. And you actually get to see the homes in the community that you might have the opportunity to live, as opposed to them just being built in one community in one part of central Ohio.
Debbie Holmes: How many builders were involved in this year's parade?
Tod Bowen: Twenty-one different builders were involved in this year's parade.
Debbie Holmes: Can you name some of them?
Tod Bowen: Yes, some of the builders you'll see homes from are Old World Custom Homes, from Drees Homes, from Pulte, from Miranda. You'll see some Epcon Homes. You'll see some multi-family by Wilcox communities, just some of those really amazing home builders that we have in central Ohio and it's a great diverse group of homes.
Debbie Holmes: We're always hearing about it's very difficult today to build homes and very expensive. What is the overall market then in central Ohio to be buildings these new homes?
Tod Bowen: I would say that in central Ohio, overall, we have, we need more housing supply of all kinds in central Ohio. As the advocate for housing, that's a battle I'm always fighting. We are doing really well economically in central Ohio, we get listed so often in terms of great places to live and we do have some great housing to live in, but we do need to build more homes. And this is a great opportunity to show off some of the homes that are being built in central Ohio. And I'm so excited that gets to be diverse housing, diverse communities, diverse price points, because there is something literally for everyone to see here in central Ohio.
Debbie Holmes: So, there's not a shortage of land?
Tod Bowen: There is not a shortage of land. It is a long process to go through the regulatory process, the land zoning process to get the local communities to sign up. That's something we're always talking with our local communities about is as you want to grow economically and grow jobs, you also have to be open to growing homes in your communities as well. And we're making good progress on that, but it's something we are always talking about you know, to be open to more dense housing. To have architectural standards that are what the market is looking for today.
Debbie Holmes: Take us through some of the highlights of what some of these homes feature.
Tod Bowen: When I think about the Parade of Homes, obviously, if you are in the market for a home, it's a great opportunity. But even if you're not actively in the market, it is a great opportunity to get some inspiration and you will see some amazing kitchens. One of the trends that we've seen is really a focus on that guest restroom and really decorating it up, making it like a little bit of a luxury point of the home. We are seeing some decorating. There's a lot of texture that goes into the homes these days, which is kind of cool to see. Even if it's painted, there's some texture added to it. And then there's some what they call color drenching where you have some rooms painted just in different hues of the same color. So, you'll get some inspiration as well. You kind of see the latest in home decorating as well as the latest in home building.
