The Building Industry and Land Development Association recently announced the winners of its annual Renovation and Custom Home Awards.
Every year, BILD celebrates and recognizes the best renovators, general contractors, and custom home builders in the Greater Toronto Area. The winners are selected by a panel of industry professionals, and the prestigious Renovator of the Year award is also based on survey results from clients.
The winner of the Renovator of the Year award went to Golden Bee Homes! This recognizes the company’s leadership role in home renovation, exceptional customer service, and overall contribution to the renovation industry in the GTA.
“Golden Bee Homes’ clients speak highly of the excellence of the company’s work as well as their professionalism, customer service and courtesy,” says Justin Sherwood, BILD’s vice-president of communications and stakeholder relations and RenoMark program manager. “Owner Jack Torossian gives back generously to the industry as the Chair of BILD’s Renovator and Custom Builder Council and volunteers as a presenter for our renovation seminars for consumers.”
Other categories include Best Renovation for a number of price ranges and areas of the home, as well as Best Condominium Renovation and Best Custom Home. Best Condominium Renovation went to Cliff and Evans Ltd., and Best Custom Home went to Severn Woods Construction Inc. There’s also an award for Best Innovative Renovation, which was awarded to Kinswater Construction Inc. for a stunning kitchen project.
“This year’s winners exemplify the quality, innovation, creativity and integrity that homeowners can expect when working with professional RenoMark renovators and custom builders,” says Sherwood.
Following a slow year in new home sales, it’s important to shine the light on the renovation and custom home industry. January 2019 was a decent start for new home sales in the GTA, but the average price of a new single-family home was still more than $1.1 million, and the average price of a new condo unit exceeded $800,000. These prices are out of reach for many couples and families.
Even in the resale market, the average price of a detached home in the GTA was still close to $1 million, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. A resale condo averaged $562,161, which marked a 6.1% year-over-year increase.
With weakened borrowing power due to the mortgage stress test, we can see more families opting for a major home renovation as opposed to buying a new home. In 2017, Canadians spent more than $77 billion on home renovations and renovations accounted for 57% of all residential construction. Perhaps 2019 will be an even busier year for the home renovation industry.
For the full list of Renovation and Custom Home awards winners, click here!