A new twist on Black Friday shopping

What’s on the menu and the to-do list for Thanksgiving weekend? How about a brand-new home? While planning holiday shopping, think about adding tours of new homes — online and in person — to the schedule.

It may seem surprising that the same logic that motivates retailers’ Black Friday deals on toys, clothing, electronics and other giftable items can be found in promotions for new construction homes. But, just like retailers, builders are motivated this time of year and many of them offer year-end incentives.

Start online

Whether searching by city, home size or included options and amenities, take time to research online and determine which communities offer the kinds of new-home features that meet your needs.

Begin with the New Home Finder (www. newhomefinder.news) to scroll through newhome communities and map guides. Scroll down to choose a Saturday or Sunday “New Homes” button.

Open and download the PDF of the section and its map guide to search by term on your device. Or open any issue online and use the “Search Archive” button to select a date range and find community and home details by keywords, including city names, features or offer.

Map out which homes to tour

After establishing a list of select communities that most closely meet your needs and desires, map out the order in which you might visit the communities for tours.

Group new-home communities in a way that will best answer your questions. For some buyers, geographic location or by builder may determine the groupings; for others, grouping by home type — such as single-family detached or urban, high-density luxury condo — might feel most logical.

To help refine your analysis of each community, consider keeping each day’s tours to three or fewer communities.

Consider making appointments

While the pandemic introduced the idea of real estate showings by appointment only, real estate tours have largely opened up by now. As a result, many builders may not require appointments for newhome buyers wishing to see their models and communities.

Some builders still require appointments. Builders that show homes by appointment only will say so in their ads in the New Home Finder Map Guide (https://www. newhomefinder.news). Click the search icon and enter “appointment” to separate communities by appointment.

And even if appointments aren’t required, consider scheduling them anyway. Doing so