Gunter Builders builds 1,500-square-foot starter tract homes in the fast-growing suburbs of Denver. Land and labor are cheap, and competition among developers is fierce. The homes are "cookie-cutter," with any upgrades added by the buyer after the sale. Gunter Builders' costs per developed sub lot are as follows:
Land ........................................................................................................ $ 50,000
Construction ........................................................................................... $120,000
Landscaping .............................................................................................. $ 9,000
Variable marketing costs ........................................................................... $ 3,000
Gunter Builders would like to earn a profit of 14% of the variable cost of each home sale. Similar homes offered by competing builders sell for $203,000 each.
Requirements
1. Which approach to pricing should Gunter Builders emphasize? Why?
2. Will Gunter Builders be able to achieve its target profit levels? Show your computations.
3. Bathrooms and kitchens are typically the most important selling features of a home. Gunter Builders could differentiate the homes by upgrading bathrooms and kitchens. The upgrades would cost $14,000 per home but would enable Gunter Builders to increase the selling prices by $24,500 per home (in general, kitchen and bathroom upgrades typically add at least 150% of their cost to the value of any home). If Gunter Builders upgrades, what will the new cost-plus price per home be? Should the company differentiate its product in this manner? Show your analysis.