The Parade of HomesSM has been a staple of Twin Cities new home marketing opportunities for over 60 years. Originally created as a marketing event to promote new construction at a historically slow time (fall), the Parade of HomesSM has grown to become the most successful event of its kind in the United States.
In 1948 Minneapolis and St. Paul became the birthplace of the original home tour concept, which has since been duplicated in many other parts of the country. It began with one home which was called the “Trend Home.” The builders cooperatively built and furnished the new home with all of the latest ideas and construction processes. The Trend Home provided home builders, material suppliers and subcontractors an opportunity to help Twin Cities families understand the changing nature of housing designs and standards. Many of the new home innovations revealed during this first display home later became standard in many homes in the later decades.
This first Parade of HomesSM promotion was timed to occur in September to coincide with National Home Week. Edward G. Gavin, director of American Builder Magazine, a popular trade magazine during the late 1940’s, coined National Home Week as a nation-wide opportunity to celebrate and promote new home construction.
In 1949, the Minneapolis Builders Association hired Larry Nelson as the Association’s executive vice president. Nelson believed that the concept of the Trend Home should be expanded to generate business for area home builders, especially during Minnesota’s fall and winter months. The Builders Associations Board of Directors immediately supported Nelson’s vision and the first local Parade of HomesSM was born. Twelve homes were built on a cul-de-sac in Edina, each by a different builder, welcoming consumers to tour the homes, free of charge. From that point on, the Twin Cities area Parade of HomesSM has been transformed into the largest, longest-running new home construction promotional event in the United States.
Today, the Parade of HomesSM encompasses two new home and two remodeling tours held in March and September each year plus a comprehensive website (www.paradeofhomes.org) providing search opportunities year-round for new homes to tour, builders, remodelers, products and services for the home, and resource information to help make smart housing decisions. A comprehensive Guidebook is published to accompany each tour with information about all of the participating properties. And the website offers enhanced search options to aid in selecting homes that suit individual needs and lifestyles.
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