For those of you who visited a number of show homes during the Spring Parade of Homes, you may have noticed some brochures highlighting the top reasons to build a new home. We don't have enough space to go through all of them here; however, the following are a few key ones.
Interest rates remain extremely low. There hasn't even been a hint of the most nominal increase until late 2016, and again, a small increase at that. If you want to take advantage of the variable rate, you can do so. A fixed five-year mortgage is available at astoundingly low rates.
Manitoba home values continue to increase every year. A new home is an excellent investment. Furthermore, it is an investment that has doubled in value over the past 15 years. How many of your other investments have that track record? You are living in that investment and raising your family and entertaining friends in that investment. Hard to do that with a bond or stock.
Quite immodestly, I will state Manitoba new homes are the best built in Canada. Our energy efficiency is unmatched. It has to be. We can experience a temperature swing from -40 C to 30 C in a few months. The Manitoba new-home industry stays ahead of the pack in the design and construction of new homes. We were the first in Canada to implement heat recovery ventilators. We're the first to implement drain water heat recovery systems. We made low-flush toilets the industry standard long before legislation was introduced.
We've talked about affordability and quality; the last key point to cover is choice. With a new home, you can build in the neighbourhood you choose and the lot you choose. More importantly, you choose the style of home. You don't have to wish you had an extra bedroom; you can design and build one into your home. You don't have to wish your kitchen was laid out differently; you can design and build it to your tastes. You don't have to knock out a wall or two to open things up; you can design and build it just the way you want. Why spend time and money wishing things were different when you can do it right the first time?
The Spring Parade generated a lot of interest in the new-home market. The weather was perfect and so visitors could not only see all aspects of the show home, but they could also drive to prospective neighbourhoods and actually envision that home in this specific lot with them living in that home.
There are many reasons why now is a good time to build. Revisit the various show homes from the Parade and choose your new home.
Mike Moore is president of the
Manitoba Home Builders' Association
