Market Intel • 3 min read • Updated 2026-11-03
HomeFest Opens Friday: Your Game Plan for Touring CBH Homes
HomeFest opens Friday, November 6, 2026, and runs through December 12 at 15 furnished models across Southridge, Centerville, Topaz Ranch West, and Jack's Place. This buyer's game plan covers how to tour smart, register your agent before your first visit, and read the up-to-$50K bonus honestly. Current as of November 3, 2026.
PK By Paul Knighton, independent buyer's agent ยท MORE Realty
HomeFest is the biggest touring window of the year
This is the buyer's game plan for HomeFest, CBH's holiday homebuying event, current as of November 3, 2026. HomeFest opens this Friday, November 6, and runs through Saturday, December 12 at 15 festively furnished model homes across four communities: Southridge and Centerville in Meridian, Topaz Ranch West in Caldwell, and Jack's Place in Nampa. Opening-weekend announcements published November 1 and 2 confirm free holiday photos, food trucks, and giveaways in the model homes, along with the event's headline incentive, up to $50,000 in bonus savings.
This is the busiest touring stretch of the year, and it is worth going in prepared. The sections below cover where to go, how to protect your representation before your first visit, and how to read the bonus offer honestly. Everything below is current as of November 3, 2026 and can change without notice, so the linked live pages and a quick call are the final word.
The four HomeFest communities
Week one of HomeFest centers on Southridge in Meridian, and the full fifteen-model lineup spans Southridge alongside Centerville in Meridian, Topaz Ranch West in Caldwell, and Jack's Place in Nampa. Fridays run 4 to 7 p.m. with holiday photos, live music, and giveaways, and the builder's 12 Days of Giveaways runs alongside the event.
Walking all four communities is the best way to compare floor plans, finish levels, and price ranges across the valley in one weekend. Each has a dedicated guide on this site with its current selling status and location details: Southridge, Centerville, Topaz Ranch West, and Jack's Place. For the full city-by-city picture, start on the communities page.
Register your agent before your first tour
The single most important step is also the easiest to skip. The person who greets you in the model home works for the builder, and their job is to sell the builder's homes. Registering your own buyer's agent before your first visit is how you make sure someone on your side of the table is involved in the deal.
It is a myth that you cannot use an agent on a new build. CBH, like most builders, allows buyers to have their own representation, and in most cases the builder pays the buyer's agent commission, so that representation is usually free to you. The catch is timing: most builders require the agent to be registered with the buyer before the first model-home visit, so register first, then tour. If you have already toured a community on your own, ask about its registration policy before you go back.
Reading the up-to-$50K bonus honestly
The headline offer tied to HomeFest is 'Miss It & Miss Out': up to $50,000 in bonus savings on a qualifying new home, usable toward closing costs, a rate buydown, appliances, window coverings, and more. Qualifying homes also include a free refrigerator, washer, and dryer, plus a Traeger Pro 22 grill and smoker, per the builder's page.
Read the fine print the way you would any incentive. Availability varies by community and by home, some incentives cannot be combined, and the appliance package is a bonus rather than part of the purchase price. Have your own lender price the same home with and without the bonus before you commit, and keep your own preapproval current so you can move when the right home appears.
Rates and the market right now
The last published Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.24% for the week ending October 29, a second straight weekly decline, and the next survey lands November 5, midway through HomeFest week one. With rates still above 7%, the buydown builders attach to new contracts, rather than the headline rate alone, is doing most of the work on monthly payments.
On the market side, the weekly Treasure Valley report covering October 26 through November 1 had not yet posted when this guide went together, so the freshest published snapshot remains the October 19 through 25 edition, which showed Ada County firming week over week. Two numbers worth carrying into the model homes: the builder's homepage currently advertises starting prices from about $329,995 in Caldwell to about $442,995 in Eagle, with Boise listed around $422,995, and CBH ranked #40 on the 2026 Builder 100 list of the nation's largest home builders.
Why this window matters for your side of the deal
HomeFest is when the largest group of furnished models in the valley is open at once, with incentives attached. The buyers who get the most out of it arrive registered, pre-approved, and clear on what the bonus is actually worth on the specific home they like, not just the one the sales office wants to feature.
We're Paul Knighton, Principal Broker (Oregon) / Associate Broker (Idaho), and Michelle Wilson, Sales Associate, independent agents at MORE Realty, and we represent buyers only. Neither of us is employed by or affiliated with CBH Homes; we represent buyers. In most cases the builder pays the buyer's agent commission. Call (208) 369-7447 or send a message, and we will pull the current inventory, price sheet, and incentive picture for any HomeFest community before you make the drive.
