April 2, 2022
By: The Finished Space
Soundbuilt Homes has been serving the King, Pierce and Thurston Counties of Western Washington for nearly four decades. The homes in Soundbuilt’s communities range from 2,500 to 3,400 square feet. With a focus on building quality, mid-market homes, they help 200+ Washingtonians realize their dream home each year.
We sat down with Soundbuilt’s Sales and Marketing Manager, Eric Peterson, to talk about what he looks for to help make their homes stand out, how he partners with dealers to build their reputation for quality, and how Metrie’s trim and moulding have made a difference to their project schedule and budget.
“Whatever their price point, our buyers are looking for something that looks really good,” Peterson says. “They expect something that makes them feel good when they walk in.”
With a 40-year reputation for quality, they’re always looking to stay on-trend. Their modern designs now include contemporary finishings like trim and moulding, and these finishings affect a builder’s price point and perceived value for buyers.
“People notice when we don’t use modern trim and moulding,” says Peterson. “We have two different communities not too far apart, set for different price points. And one of the ways we’ll achieve that lower price point is to use less or to use lower profile trims. And we’ve had people visit both communities, and if they walk into the lower-priced home second, they’re disappointed to see that the trim isn’t the same.”
He even says some of those homeowners, who had planned on choosing something in the lower priced community, choose something at the higher price point instead. “Feel is so important,” Peterson notes. “A lot of them will say they notice the lack of trim or the smaller profiles.”
One of the ways Soundbuilt delivers on their buyers’ expectations of quality, while still managing their price points and market positioning, is by using trim products like Metrie Complete®. These prefinished mouldings are pre-painted and also come with color-matched caulking and wax fill sticks for touch-ups after installation.
“It saves cycle time and money,” says Peterson. “We don’t need to bring in separate trim painters.” With time and money on the line, and with labor shortages across the country, especially for skilled trades, having a product they can install with the laborers they have on-site is definitely an added advantage.
The first time Soundbuilt used Metrie Complete was in 2018. “We wanted something that had a really nice modern look to it, that was higher-end in its finish, without stretching our budget too thin.”
He adds, “I remember looking at [Metrie Complete] and thinking it had such a good-quality look to it. It fit our modern design but didn’t cost nearly as much as it would have to get other pieces in there and paint them. Now we use it all over the place in a lot of our communities and it gives a good wow factor for our buyers.”
Peterson also says buyers are specifically looking for tall profiles when it comes to trim and moulding. “They’ve commented about how it makes the room look bigger or fancier. It adds to the design of the home and buyers comment on how [high] quality it looks.”
Taller profiles have been a point of differentiation for Soundbuilt for the last few years. “Five or seven years ago, when we first introduced them to our communities, no one else was using the 5 ¼ or 6-inch profiles.” He says many of their competitors have adopted them now because it gives a home a more modern and high-quality look.
And when it comes to sourcing the newest and best quality trim and moulding, Soundbuilt relies on their long-standing relationships with Metrie dealers in the area to keep them up to date on new trends and help keep their projects on track.
“I don’t think I can stress how important follow-up and communication are,” Peterson says.
Good communication is essential between builders and dealers, such as checking in to see how the product install went. Dealers should ask questions about how the product worked with the design, if there were any installation issues or if there’s anything they can do to make the builder’s projects go smoother in the future.
Peterson also stressed the importance of on-time, speedy delivery, “If a dealer says they can provide a product in a timely manner and then they don’t, that’s an issue that can set our project back. A couple of weeks’ delay is two weeks of people not buying our homes.”
When dealers provide delivery dates, they need to be sure to communicate any potential delays or issues to the builder as quickly as possible. Sometimes the builder can work on another part of the house while waiting for the product to arrive, but if the dealer doesn’t communicate, the builder could needlessly waste time and money waiting.
It’s also important for dealers to keep builders up to date on the latest trends. Dealers work with builders across a wide area, so they always have their pulse on new trends and designs that builders need to know. Communicating this type of information helps builders create home designs that their buyers will love and will keep them coming back for more.
Soundbuilt has been consistently using Metrie’s pre-painted millwork in their homes. Their partnership with local Metrie dealers enables them to build communities in Western Washington that people are proud to call home. To find more information on how our pre-painted Metrie Complete line can save you time and money, visit Metrie.com.