Ken Thurston
Making the ‘right’ choice
At the turn of the 21st century, Ken Thurston took a look at his successful home building business in Las Cruces and took an incredible leap of faith. Maybe it was the infectious spirit of looking into a new millennium. Or his sense that building a good house the “usual way” was not wrong, necessarily, but “not right either.”
“Right” now meant a whole new way of building for Ken Thurston, and to satisfy his vision he would have to revolutionize his whole approach to home building. “It was an enormous risk. I could have lost it all,” says Ken Thurston. “But it was the right choice.”
That choice was to become a Building America Program Partner and provide the Las Cruces market a new type of home, affordable yet on the cutting edge of energy efficient technology. To meet the rigorous construction guidelines and testing procedures that qualify a home as a Building America and Energy Star product Ken Thurston had to change construction practices “from the bottom up.” And in the process, re-educate his staff and subs to the revolutionary concepts, “and the consumer as well.” (See article on page 6 for specific details on the Building America and Energy Star home programs).
There is no question that Ken Thurston’s leap of faith has been thoroughly validated. In the short span of years he has committed to producing energy efficient homes that merit the Building America and Energy Star seal of approval, his company has gone from building 30 to 50 homes a year to closing 107, making him #1 in new homes built in Las Cruces in 2004. This year every single Ken Thurston home will be a Building America home. This means an added cost per house of $500 for the designation, but Ken Thurston sees this as part of the “accountability process” that is essential for his company. “That seal tells me that we are a company that is accountable, to our customers and to the environment,” he says emphatically.
Ken Thurston’s long-time associate and now president of the company, Joe Hays, shares CEO Ken Thurston’s commitment to this new motto – “Building it Right!” And he also adds to this focus an emphasis on teamwork. “As we grow, we must evolve a team concept. If we don’t, we won’t succeed,” insists Joe Hays. “Team” means channels of operation and cooperation in the broadest of terms. This includes not only company staff and subs, but the customer and the home financer as well. “We have to be good in educating the consumer to get him/her on our team. They need to be educated how to use the house properly,” explains Ken Thurston. Bottom line for this approach is a satisfied and enthusiastic home owner. “I want happy home owners. I really do!” says Ken Thurston.
And the financer. Educated financial officers are equally necessary to create the kind of “team envelop” that Joe Hays and Ken Thurston envision. Ken Thurston tells a favorite story about a banker from Deming who was considering a sizable loan to the company. When the banker indicated an interest in seeing a house under construction, Ken Thurston, ever confident of his product, told him – “come on in!” The banker walked around to observe the house, the basic anatomy of a tightly constructed energy efficient Ken Thurston Home, noted how the windows are wrapped, how the ducts are sealed, e.t.c.…and exclaimed: “This is the darnedest thing I’ve ever seen!” The loan was soon forthcoming. “Now he’s a team member too!” says Hays.
Taking risks and constantly learning and evolving are essential to Ken Thurston and Joe Hays and growing their company. And it shows in the background of each man. Ken Thurston began building homes in the Farmington, New Mexico, area almost 30 years ago, but when a down-turn in the oil industry collapsed the economy in the region, he bit the bullet and looked for new territory.
Las Cruces caught his imagination and in 1986 he purchased 240 acres of raw land in the then relatively virgin northeast corridor. In cooperation with real estate developer Roger Cox and Associates of Albuquerque, he began development of Las Colinas. Why Las Cruces? “My several trips here showed me that there was a real need for affordable housing.” (“Affordable” then was a home in the $60,000 range).
This is still the company’s forte. “In the home building business, there are generally three categories of builders: the economy builder, the value builder, and the style builder,” he explains. “Value is our niche. That’s where we shine.” The median price of a new Las Cruces home in the current boom market is now $212,000. But Ken Thurston Homes is currently offering a 1026 square foot, three bedroom, two bath, two car garage home for $106,900, well below the median. What’s more, this home will be built to the advanced, energy efficient standards that are now the hallmark of every Ken Thurston-built home.
Ken Thurston credits his long involvement with the National Association of Home Builders for “schooling me” and pointing him wisely in the direction of energy efficient design. He is a past president of the local Home Builders Association in both the Farmington area and Las Cruces, and in 1996 was named Las Cruces Builder Member of the Year.
Joe Hays joined the company eleven years ago as a painting sub contractor, and through his “experience, common sense and keen eye for detail” says Ken Thurston, quickly moved to on-site construction supervisor and now president. With Ken Thurston, he signed on early to the potential of the Building America Program in spite of the initial up-front risk to the company’s profitability and stature in the Las Cruces building industry.
Ken Thurston feels his decision to sign up has helped his company to stay on top of the market. With the results in for 2004 his feelings seem right. Ken Thurston Homes built more new homes in Las Cruces last year than any other builder. Ken Thurston Homes has become “more of the driver of the market”. It’s no stretch to speculate that as more and more builders accept the Building America concept, Ken Thurston Homes can expect their “team envelop” idea of responsible channels of accountability - to the customer and the environment - to reach nationwide.
