The Home Builders Association of Northwest Indiana Realtor & Builder Caravan Oktoberfest helps people connect during the Parade of Homes

The Home Builders Association of Northwest Indiana (HBANWI) brought realtors and builders together on Wednesday, September 23, for the Realtor & Builder Caravan Oktoberfest 2026 at Stonebridge Parkway in Valparaiso.

The event is a 10-day opportunity for the public to tour these luxurious custom builds that are sprayed on large country lots in Valparaiso’s Stonebridge Subdivision. The Oktoberfest celebration helped people connect with one another outside of their everyday transactions.

Rather than simply focusing on the homes, the parade opened up a setting for realtors and builders to learn more about each other’s strengths, discuss design and construction trends, and explore ways they could better serve their clients.

“It’s really exciting to show realtors all the new construction options that we offer,” said Megan Heckard, a sales agent for Steiner homes. “Steiner Homes is really good about taking care of realtors, and we want to get them in here and show them our products, show them what’s available to customers, and get them involved.”

The Realtor & Builder Caravan Oktoberfest also gave attendees a chance to discuss the current housing market, buyer expectations, and challenges facing the industry. The night included a beer garden for attendees to enjoy personal conversations and additional professional dialogue.

Realtors were provided an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the builders through these tours. Builders, meanwhile, could hear directly from realtors about what buyers were looking for and how expectations were changing.

“A lot of the energy-efficient and green appliances are features that are especially important to today’s home buyers. Buyers want to know how much a house is going to cost in utilities, or how a house is going to perform in the winter or spring. Comfort and aspects like temperature are very important,” said Jose Sanjuan, vice president of Business Development at Indiana Springfield.

This Parade of Homes experience at Stonebridge included homes developed by Bruce Built Construction, Davis Homes, Crusader Homes, Summit Homebuilders, and more. Attendees had an opportunity to choose which day worked best for them to tour the homes throughout the event period.

“The Parade of Homes gives the public a chance to come out and see for themselves the latest trends and things that are going on in the new construction industry. It gives a lot of people inspiration as well for their own places,” said Ryan Peterson, business development executive with Chicago Title.

The Parade of Homes then entered its final weekend Friday, September 25, with another opportunity to tour the custom homes. Food trucks were available during Parade hours on the final weekend, with the beer garden and live entertainment from 4 to 6 p.m. The same offerings continued Saturday, September 26, as well as the Last Chance to Tour event on Sunday, September 27.

“This event invites people to parade around in the homes and gives them a great idea of what the new trends are, and what local builders are doing. It lets people ask all kinds of questions, since there’s so many builders and people here showcasing different homes,” Sanjuan said.

To keep track of the Parade of Homes schedule, you can check out the full schedule online. More information on the Home Builders Association of Northwest Indiana can be found at hbanwi.com.