One piece of data from the Builder Practices Study by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) should make most builders hang their heads in shame.

According to the study, 84 percent of builders believe that marketing technology is either "very important" or "somewhat important." Moreover, 65 percent of builders report that marketing technology in selling their homes is either "much more important" or at least "somewhat more important" than it was just two years ago. But — and it's a big ‘but' — 0 percent of builders report that they "proactively market" home technology to homebuyers. That's not a misprint: zero, none, nada percent of builders are actively marketing attractive and desirable amenities like home theaters, multiroom audio system, high-speed Internet connections and more.

Only 4 percent to 8 percent of builders are even providing information on home technology amenities upon request of the customer. That means 93 percent to 96 percent of builders, depending on the category of technology, say they "do nothing" to market home tech.

The data is even more gutwrenching by two other statistics. First, up to 32 percent of new-home buyers (depending on the category) say they had "buyer's remorse" for not getting certain home technology features in their new abode. Second, 65 percent of builders are totally "unaware" of the Tech Home Rating System.

"I am pleasantly surprised that 35 percent have even heard of it," quipped David Epstein of Sound Solutions, a Los Angeles-based integrator who sits on the CEA Tech Home Division board.

Easel Come, Easel Show

So how do you market home technology? On your Web site for one, but there are also some low-tech ways to market high tech. At A Home by Corbo, a homebuilding company in Roxbury, Conn., owner Ralph Corbo and his son Colin have developed some creative ways to put technology in the face of potential buyers of their spec homes. According to Ralph Corbo, "Nobody else in the area is doing a technology package like ours. Nobody! And I have no clue as to why others are not doing it."

When you walk into one of their spec homes, you are greeted by two large easels in the foyer holding corkboards. The Corbos have thumb-tacked self-made black-and-white literature that runs through the technology being offered in the home, including the dedicated media room, the surround sound in the great room, the many structured wiring drops and even details like weatherstripped interior doors in the media room to help contain the sound. The easels are nothing fancy, but they can't be missed by the potential homebuyer. Up in the dedicated media room above the garage, another easel is also on display with even more details.