Last fall, Minnesota’s residential construction and remodeling community opened its doors—literally—to the public through a curated trio of home tours presented by Housing First Minnesota: the Parade of Homes, Remodelers Showcase, and Artisan Home Tour. Together, these events offered a comprehensive look at the latest in new construction, renovation, and high-end custom homebuilding while also serving as important visibility and networking platforms for industry pros.
The Fall Parade of Homes, from Sept. 5-28, 2025, showcased newly built homes throughout the Twin Cities and surrounding communities, demonstrating the state’s depth of market representation across price points. Builders used the tour to introduce new floor plans, spotlight neighborhood amenities, and connect with comparison-shopping buyers early in their decision-making process.
The tour’s scale was part of its strength: More than 315 entries spanned a range of investment levels, architectural styles, geographic areas, and builder specialties. Visitors were able to see trends firsthand, from flexible living layouts and expanded outdoor spaces to energy-efficient systems and evolving kitchen and bath priorities. Further, a select number of homes was designated as Dream Homes, which required a $7 entry ticket. Proceeds benefited the Housing First Minnesota Foundation, extending the impact of the tour to philanthropic housing initiatives statewide.
Meanwhile, the Remodelers Showcase, from Sept. 26-28, 2025, complemented the Parade with a weekend focused solely on skillfully renovated homes. The Showcase allowed remodeling firms to demonstrate real-world transformations and highlight solutions to common homeowner challenges, such as reconfiguring aging layouts, increasing accessibility, enhancing curb appeal while maintaining neighborhood character, and more.
Because many of the featured homes were lived in, visitors gained insight into practical, functional improvements—not just aesthetics. For remodelers, the Showcase remained a strong business generator, consistently drawing homeowners who intend to remodel and wanted to meet firms in person before beginning planning for their next home project.
The very next week, the Artisan Home Tour, from Oct. 3-19, 2025, highlighted a stunning collection of 20-plus custom new homes and luxury whole-home remodels. These residences were built by local homebuilding firms with demonstrated expertise in high-craft execution, architectural prowess, and material quality. Homes on the tour often featured integrated interior-architectural detailing, bespoke millwork and custom fabrication, site design strategies that enhanced the surrounding natural setting, and collaborative planning among builders, designers, architects, remodelers, and landscapers.
For Artisan builders and remodelers, the tour served as both a marketing platform and a moment of peer recognition, reinforcing the value of what home tours can bring to the table.
Beyond the consumer audience, the fall tours also functioned as visible industry events. Builders and remodelers leveraged participation to generate qualified leads; strengthen brand differentiation; recruit subcontractors, designers, and future employees; and capture professional photography and videography at peak presentation quality. Suppliers, trade professionals, and designers likewise benefited from credited exposure across marketing, media, and professional networks.