Technology background opens door for builder

Paul Ivers has taken "the road less traveled."

Unlike most of his colleagues in the home-building business, the division president of DRH Cambridge Homes came to the industry via the technology field.

"I always wanted to learn the home-building business, so I came to Cambridge in 2001 as their vice president of technology," Ivers said.

"My father had worked with his hands and I always admired that, so after working for years in technology, I wanted to learn the homebuilding business."

Ivers began his adult life as an enlisted nuclear electrical technician in the Navy. During his Navy years he earned his college degree from the State University of New York and went into the private sector, working in technology-related positions with the Tribune Media Co. and then with Motorola.

When he was hired by Cambridge Homes two years after its acquisition by DR Horton, it was to bring the home-building firm into the computer age.

Cambridge is now the Illinois division of DR Horton, a New York Stock Exchange-traded home-building firm. Three years ago Ivers, 50, became its division president and now he is steering the company through the most challenging home-building market in at least 30 years.

"Typically, Cambridge Homes builds about 1,200 homes per year in the Chicago area," Ivers said. "During the boom time it was much higher, but typically, it is about 1,200. Last year we built approximately 600 homes."

He admits that Cambridge has been more fortunate than many of its competitors and credits the financial backing of a publicly-traded company for helping them weather the storm.

"We are now a smaller company than we were since we have had to adjust to market demand," Ivers said. "As demand in certain areas diminished, we finished what we were building and then backed away from those with the least demand, like mid-rise projects, and we are also no longer actively pursuing our Premier series of single-family homes."

But Cambridge still has 19 active communities in the Chicago area that support 32 different product lines, Ivers said. Those communities are located all around the area, from Pingree Grove and Cortland in the Northwest, to Aurora, Naperville and Montgomery in the West, and Volo, Libertyville and Beach Park in the North.

What is your dream house?

"My wife and I are raising our four children in a traditional Cambridge home in Libertyville and it is definitely our dream home."

Describe your favorite amenity.

"I like large, livable kitchens and family rooms with great space for not only cooking and eating, but family meetings and get-togethers," he explained. "It is my favorite part of a house and it is something that many of our customers are also demanding."

What is your business philosophy?

"I aim to continue in the tradition of Cambridge Homes founder Richard Brown. We build communities, not just houses, and we give our buyers long-lasting value for their investment.

"We pride ourselves on building communities that stand the test of time."

The details:

Cambridge Homes builds a broad range of home products in a broad geographical area around Chicago. Its homes now range in price from $135,000 to $450,000.

"We are successful, I believe, because of our extraordinarily talented executives and the dedication of all of our employees," Ivers said. "Everyone cares a lot and our customers recognize that. In addition, we are careful to form partnerships with the municipalities in which we build because we probably want to build there again in the future, and even if a community is built-out, we would like to get a good recommendation from them."

Buyer profile:

Cambridge primarily sells to first-time buyers and first-time move-up buyers, Ivers said. The exception to that are buyers in its active-adult communities. Since the early 1990s, Cambridge has built nine of their "Carillon" active-adult communities and three of those are still actively being built. Those communities appeal to downsizing buyers who are 55 and older.

What is the best part of being a builder?

"I enjoy helping customers achieve a major dream of theirs. Any product can say that it improves people's lives, but only homebuilders provide shelter where people can live their lives and raise their families."

Ivers said whenever he is feeling down, all he has to do is drive through one of Cambridge's communities, and seeing the children playing and the trees maturing will improve his mood.

What are the biggest changes you've seen in the business?

Increased sophistication among buyers is the most glaring change Ivers has observed.

"Today's buyers have a stronger sense of what they are looking for and are much more knowledgeable. They are doing their comparative shopping on the Internet and then only going out to see the communities that they are very interested in. So today, when someone walks in your door, they are generally pretty serious.

"I have also noticed that people are more concerned about the quality of the construction and the financial strength of the builder, thanks to the economy.

"Word-of-mouth referrals have always been important, but today they are a very big deal. And the fact that we have always gotten a lot of personal referrals has helped us weather the storm."

People are also very interested in amenities in their communities like walking trails (or access to public trails), parks, outdoor recreation and pools, he said. Interestingly, golf courses are no longer much of a draw.

With active-adult communities, the lack of such facilities are deal-breakers. If you don't offer it, people don't buy because that is the kind of lifestyle the 55-plus market wants.

Younger families also dream of such amenities, but they are willing to do without them, Ivers said.

For more information about Libertyville-based Cambridge Homes, call (847) 362-9100 or visit drhorton.com.