With the recent launch of its iDesign tool that allows customers to design and buy brand-new custom homes online, Harbor Homes of Pewaukee believes it's an innovative leader in its industry.
"It is cutting edge," said Brad Blaney, a Milwaukee-area software developer and technology consultant Harbor Homes hired for the project. He added that the new construction industry has "always been an industry that lags in technology adoption."
Work on the company's iDesign tool, which allows buyers to digitally select a subdivision lot, floorplan and customized options before signing a contract online, was a collaborative effort between Harbor Homes and Anewgo Inc. of Holly Springs, North Carolina.
"We designed the platform, the thought process and everything that goes into it," Harbor Homes president Scott Thistle said, adding that the company partnered with an outside firm — Anewgo — to build the backend.
Thistle first envisioned the iDesign tool about two years ago, in the early days of Harbor Homes, which he founded in 2018 to fill a gap in the market for relatively affordable new construction homes. He hired Blaney to make it come to life.
Blaney, who previously worked for Brookfield-based software firm Penta Technologies Inc., identified Anewgo as a partner because it had already developed a digital home design software platform, Blaney said.
Harbor Homes wanted to incorporate contracts and pricing into the digital experience and Anewgo agreed to build those capabilities into its solution using Harbor Homes as its beta customer, Blaney said.
With the launch of its iDesign tool, Harbor Homes is Anewgo's first client to launch its new "Buy Now" feature that allows users to design, price and buy new homes online with online payment and digital contracts, Anewgo CEO John Lee wrote in a LinkedIn post published Monday in response to a previous Milwaukee Business Journal article about the Harbor Homes tool.
"Ultimately, we will bring the entire shopping and purchasing process online from discovery to closing," Lee wrote in a separate LinkedIn comment on Monday. "This is the beginning of an entirely new way to shop and buy new homes online."
