Company's coming.
Manitoba's home builders are putting out the welcome mat for a horde of visitors during the Fall Parade of Homes from Sept. 10 to Oct. 2.
And like most house-proud hosts, they've been busy polishing floors and appliances, straightening pictures and fussing over every last detail before their guests arrive.
"The purpose is to show the best of what you have and the best of what you're able to do, so you want it to look absolutely perfect for your company," says Manitoba Home Builders' Association (MHBA) president Mike Moore.
"And your company is tens of thousands of people coming over to visit your house."
With more than 130 show-home entries in almost 40 neighbourhoods in Brandon, Winnipeg and surrounding communities, Parade of Homes committee members say the final push for perfection can get a wee bit chaotic.
"It could be laying sod down at 10:30 at night on Friday with the grand opening Saturday morning," says Andrew Koop, who owns Irwin Homes.
"I've had sprinkler guys installing while we're laying grass on top of them on a Friday afternoon, or powerwashing driveways on Saturday morning to clean up the mess. Been there, done that — I think every builder has."
During the building season, construction depends on good weather, completed road access to new developments, installation of sewer, gas and hydro services and availability of materials and supplies.
Since landscaping can't be done until stucco and other exterior finishes are complete, it's the last step in the process. And it's the step most likely to create havoc for home builders.
"Everyone sods the week before Parade of Homes opens," says Ken Braun, Qualico manager of singlefamily housing. "One year on the Thursday just before the Parade opened there were torrential rains, in River Park South in particular.
"All of the sod actually washed off the lots and onto the streets, so that was pretty crazy. We all rebounded back and everyone is so focused on having everything ready that day — we were ready, let's put it that way."
Moore says unexpectedly fine weather caused minor mayhem during a Spring Parade a few years back. All the snow melted, so there was nowhere to plant Parade signs in show home neighbourhoods.
"You couldn't hammer them into the ground because the ground was still frozen, so every one of our signs fell down."
No matter what challenges arise, the Parade must go on — and on time.
"We want the buying public to have a great experience, which means educated sales staff, completed homes, developers that are backing us home builders," Koop says.
"It's amazing how much work and planning goes into it. There's a lot of good people putting in a lot of work."
While builders and developers on the Parade committee contribute to the planning process, Braun and other members credit the MHBA and outgoing special events and membership coordinator Janet Constable for its success.
"The MHBA runs probably one of the best Parades in all of Canada," says Randall Homes' Jason Jaquet.
"No one goes to the extreme that we do and everyone now in the city and even in the province knows, 'OK, fall time comes, the Parade of Homes is here.' So everybody knows the synergy that comes from it and even if you're not looking to build a new home you're still going out to look at the new homes."
During the Fall Parade, four professional builders — from Ontario, Saskatchewan, B.C. and Alberta — will act as judges, poring over floor plans, photos and documents to select the winning show homes.
But while builders of every size are in competition, the Parade is a collaborative effort to present the best products and innovations.
"We want the community in Manitoba to get a good feel for the wide variety of options they have available to them, both in location and by builders," says Maric Homes vice-president of operations Tanya Maric.
"We're all competing with one another and also putting our best foot forward for the market here."
Some visitors focus on the quality of construction and materials. Others just like to see the latest in decor and design trends — and that's OK.
"I've always told our salespeople they may not be buying today — they maybe have no intention of buying," says Braun. "But when they go out and they actually see what's out there … they go back to their home and they go, 'You know, this isn't cutting it any more.'
" See what's new during the Fall Parade of Homes, and keep in mind that show homes are open for viewing yearround. Learn more about builders, developers and show home locations year-round at homebuilders.mb.ca.
