It's somewhat ironic that in the three months of this blog's life so far, we've looked at ways to do all sorts of things using online tools and resources... but we've yet to talk about different ways to use the internet to find a new home, which is our bread and butter!

Mostly, the reasoning for this is that we want New Home News to truly be a resource for prospective home buyers and sellers, and not just to be viewed as a publicity engine for our Ottawa new home search engine New Home Association.ca (it isn't.) 

But since we are experts when it comes to leveraging the web in your home search, we would be remiss if we ignored the topic altogether. And so, here are the top 3 resources we've come across online to help those of you in the Ottawa area find your dream home. 

1) NewHomeReviews.com

While the design of this site is a little mid-nineties and some of the content has not been updated in a few years, there is still some value to be had for Ottawans in search of a new home by visiting this site. Namely, NHR boasts a pretty comprehensive directory of Ottawa builders, including a phone number, physical address, web site and brief bio for each one. 

The directory is really the only valuable resource on the site, unfortunately; a gaggle of other half-implemented ideas like a homes services directory, discussion forum and articles database are either out of date or just plain non-working. Nonetheless, aside from this blog's own exhaustive list of Ottawa builders, the NHR directory is one of the best ones online. 

2) New Homes And Condos Online

The online complement to the popular Traders Corp (publishers of Auto Trader, etc.) publication New Homes and Condos, this site offers a way to search for new homes by region, type of home and price. The site serves all of Ontario, including Ottawa and he selection and variety of model homes for Ottawa is pretty good, but not great: an open search for all models pulls in about 60 results.

The presentation and functionality on this site are really clean and easy. The only potential downside of the New Homes and Condos service is the way it displays results: Basically, you are presented with a list of models from different builders that match your search query, but instead of providing more in-depth information about each one when you click on it, all of these results actually redirect to the specific builder's own website, where you will have to start from scratch, find the model and proceed from there. 

3) New Home Association.ca

What, did you think we were going to leave our own service out? Well, if we didn't believe that NHA was truly useful to potential new home buyers in Ottawa, we wouldn't waste our time going to work every morning, so it stands to reason that we would include it here!

When you visit our site, you're presented with a splash page that invites you to choose a region. Currently, we serve Ottawa and Gatineau, but an upcoming expansion will involve all of Ontario. In any case, once you've chosen Ottawa, you'll come to the home page where with one click, you can search for your dream home by price, region, type of home, builder or specific development, very similar to the options offered by New Homes and Condos (see above.)

Where we feel we offer additional value is in two areas: selection and convenience. Firstly, an open search of all our models returns literally over a thousand results (compared to 60 on NHaC.) That's what we call variety. 

Secondly, all your searches and comparisons can be done right on NHA.ca, because we have uploaded all the information you could ever want about each and every model onto our own database. No need to leave and visit builder websites here there and everywhere. That's what we call convenience.

We're working on all sorts of added features as well, such as builder profile pages, a home service directory, and much more. Of course, you just need to stay tuned to this blg to hear all about the new functionalities as they're rolled out.

Well, what is your unbiased opinion, valued reader? How does our service stack up against the competition's? We'd love to hear what you think in the comments. 

We're working hard to make NHA.ca the number one destination for new home searches in Ottawa, and eventually all of Ontario and beyond. We hope you like the fruits of our labour so far!

  

As you know, on this blog we like to highlight when builders make an effort to give back to the community. One builder who consistently does so is Minto, with their annual CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) Lottery Dream Home.

Every year, Minto puts their nose to the grindstone to come up with a CHEO Dream Home that will blow visitors away. This year is no exception.

The 4,833 square-foot open concept, called "Stirling III", is shown above in an artist's rendering and is one of Minto's exclusive designs in the development of Winding Way (a neighbourhood in the south west of Ottawa.)

This year's Dream Home features four bedrooms, a full outdoor kitchen by Capital Appliance & BBQ, a Four Seasons sunroom, Dell home office, RONA workshop, and a hot tub from SubZero Hot Tubs & Pool Tables.

The kitchen, located in the home's centre, sets the tone with its dynamic dark cabinetry and splashy red countertop. This theme is continued in the home's basement, which houses the Signature Audio Video home theatre, Fitness Depot exercise room, Palason games room, and a cozy sauna.

The home also comes fully furnished by La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, and with picturesque landscaping by Artistic Landscape Design.

If you're in Ottawa, you can visit the Dream Home at 9 Tradewinds Drive in Winding Way located south of Prince of Wales Drive between Woodroffe and Merivale. Hours are Monday to Friday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

For more detailed information about the home and other prizes feel free to visit the Web site at www.dreamofalifetime.ca. 

Here's to hoping this year's draw raises lots of money for this worthy cause, as it always has in years past.

When you're on the hunt for your dream home, sometimes those old rose-coloured glasses can cloud your vision and make it difficult to see straight. But we should never forget that a home is a huge investment, and whether you're buying a new home or a resold one, there are certain things you need to consider before you fall in love with a property. 

Here are the best 7 tidbits of advice we could come up with for finding a dream home that doesn't disappoint. As always, let us know what you think of them and if you'd add any others in the comments!

1) Always Do Your Research

Whether you do it online, in newspapers or in person by visiting homes or model homes (with a realtor or without), it always pays to do your homework. This may seem like obvious advice, but all too often home buyers get so caught up in the excitement of purchasing a new home that they may skimp on some of the hard work. Don't be one of those.

2) You Can Pick Your Nose...

Always look for the cheapest house in the best neighborhood, because homes can be improved, but neighbours can't! When you buy for the area first, you are more likely to get the utmost bang for your buck in the long haul. This doesn't mean you should buy a house you hate in a burrough you love, but it's something to keep in mind nonetheless. 

4) Location, Location, Location

Like neighbours, a house's address is pretty fixed, too. You can change pretty much everything about your home after you buy it, in fact... except where it is located. Buying a home you love in an area that is inconvenient, dangerous or less than ideal is a short-sighted plan. Find a region you love first, then look for a home within it.

5) Compromise is Key

The sooner you come to terms with the fact that the perfect home does not exist, the easier this will be for everyone. Unless you're commissioning a custom home to be built on land of your choosing, there will always be a few things you don't like about every property you visit. Give and take a little, and aim to find the home that satisfies most of your needs and wants, not all.

6) Don't Fall In Love, If You Can Help It

No, I'm not talking about Cupid's Arrow, and Yes, this is easier said than done, but it is always best to stay as emotionally detached as possible when looking for and bidding on a home. This is, after all, a business, and there is no room in the deal room for emotion. 

If you do lose what you thought was your dream home when a deal falls through, don't fret, another one that's even better for you will come along soon!

7) Beware The Handy-man's Special

It might be refreshing to walk into a home that has been gutted and redone from top to bottom, but always remember to look closely at renovations to make sure they don't exhibit any signs of unprofessionalism. 

As we mentioned in our post about home inspections, professional inspectors are always wary of such renos, saying that they nearly always have code errors and other problems that could cause headaches down the road. Look out for crooked walls, oddly wired appliances and anything else that just doesn't seem right. Better to turn your back now on a house that looks great, but really isn't, than to look the other way and have issues down the road.

A New Direction

With one successful multi-lot development under their belt and another underway, Ottawa builder Dharma Developments has announced that they will be bringing their eco-conscious, high-quality building style to the custom home market starting this winter.

Dharma impressed many with its first development, Powers Enclave, a 29-home neighbourhood in Stittsville, just minutes from Kanata Centrum, because of the quality of their construction and the durable products they use, as well as for their innovative approach to sustainable building. 

A new loft-style homes development called Orville Station is set to break ground next spring and has attained the lofty environmental designation of LEED Silver for its eco-friendly design. 

And this reputation for quality and innovation is exactly what is driving Ottawans to enlist Dharma's help in building their custom dream home, now that the service is being offered. 

"The feedback we've gotten so far from clients about why they're choosing us is because of our quality workmanship and our focus on green technology," says Dharma Sales and Marketing Manager Wendy Bissonette. "One potential client who viewed Powers Enclave recently was really impressed with the finishing detail and the attention we pay to the quality of products used in the home." 

   

The move into custom homes does not signify a shift in priorities for Dharma, says Bissonette. The company will continue to plan and execute innovative communities like Powers and Orville Station in the future. Instead, the new division is meant to complement their existing work, and help home owners who may already have their own lot or would prefer to live in an area outside Dharma's current communities to achieve their vision. 

"A lot of people have this dream of building their own home, but when they get to the point of actually doing it, they realize they don't know how," says Bissonette. "We want to be there as a partner for them and help them through the process." 

For Dharma, this business transition is partly about expanding their reach and keeping busy between major multi-lot projects, but it is also about making a contribution to the Ottawa community, a value that Dharma has always espoused (evidenced by their commitment to charity and the local arts community.) 

"Offering custom homebuilding for us is about being able to pass on the knowledge that we've gained with Powers Enclave  and Orville Station, in terms of LEED and green technologies," says Bissonette. "We want to help build smart homes that are efficient and as green as people want them to be - we always look at new technologies to be able to relay those options to our customers. With our custom homes, the client really has a blank canvas."

LEEDing The Way

This commitment to green building has set Dharma apart from other builders in the Ottawa market. While some smaller local homebuilders have been afraid to experiment with eco-technologies for fear that homebuyers wouldn't willing to pay the necessary premiums, Dharma has consistently led the way in offering stylish, environmentally friendly and affordable homes, proving that the combination is indeed possible.

And as is often the case, daring to be different has paid off for Dharma. Bissonette says more than half of the inquiries they are currently receiving for custom home quotes involve requests for green technologies, so it is clear that their reputation precedes them.

On every build, Dharma considers a strict set of eco-criteria in planning, design and construction, including but not limited to: 

• Use of building supplies that are locally available, contain recycled material and/or are themselves salvaged and recycled; 
• Use of durable products that won't end up in landfills in the near future; 
• Low toxicitiy in indoor materials; and minimal emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) during construction.
  

But perhaps more importantly, "green building" isn't just a glorified checklist for this builder, it's a company mantra. 

Not only does Dharma try to make each and every project as environmentally low-impact as possible, but every employee is committed to the cause as well. As Bissonette says, it's the little things that make the difference. 

"We always recycle in the office, we power down lights and computers when not in use, we don't use paper plates or napkins unnecessarily, we all drive fuel-efficient vehicles. Each employee is very conscious of their impact, we all do our part for the environment in our own lives, and we bring that commitment to work, too."

For more information any of Dharma's developments, or about their new custom homes service, you can visit them on the web at www.dharmadevelopments.com, leave a comment on this post or send me an email and I will be happy to put you in touch with the custom homes team. 

For a detailed look at the few lots still available in their Powers Enclave community or to pre-order for Orville Station lots, head over to NHA.ca and take a look. 

Here at NewHomeAssociation.ca, we strive to make it as easy as possible for prospective homeowners in Ottawa (and soon across Ontario) to find the homes they are looking for. 

One of the comments we consistently get about house-shopping online, however (be it for re-sale houses on a site like MLS or new homes on one like NHA.ca) is that it is difficult to really experience the atmosphere of a home from just a few still photos.

And that's where our exciting new partnership with 3Vista comes in.

3Vista is an innovative company that provides a way to showcase 3D renderings and videos of homes that may not even be built yet, based on the builder's plans. You can see some examples of their demos on their site, like this one. Starting next month, every NHA listing will include a virtual walkthrough that allows you to explore each model of home as though you were walking through it yourself!

 

Our company President Genevieve Tremblay announced this new strategic partnership last week and we're really excited to roll out even more functionality for our users. 

"We are delighted to join forces with a company like 3Vista, who share the same values and philosophies as we do," says Tremblay. "Buying a new home is a very important decision and the tools we now provide helps make the purchasing process a more enjoyable one."

We hope that you'll find the new features a useful addition to our arsenal of tools for finding your dream home. As always, we'd love to hear your feedback in the comments. Happy house-hunting!

When you have a service that aims to fill a void and truly help consumers (like we at NewHomeAssociation.ca do, I hope), any opportunity to expand your audience is an exciting one. So it should come as no surprise that we have been chomping at the bit to announce a new partnership we've forged with Ottawa Region Media Group and their print publication insert called Capital Region New Homes.

Ottawa Region Media Group is a network of popular community newspapers here in Ottawa, including the Kanata Kourier-Standard, Nepean This Week, the Ottawa South Weekender, plus eleven others. Capital Region New Homes is a publication highlighting new homes and developments in Ottawa that is included in all those publications regularly. 

So ORMG had a publication reaching over 200,000 doorsteps each edition, but before now didn't have a meaningful way for readers to search for homes online. 

And we obviously specialized in making that kind of search painless, but, before now, didn't have the means to reach so many people through the print medium. 

It was a successful partnership waiting to happen, and ORMG General Manager John Willems agrees. 

"We both immediately recognized the value the other brought for new home buyers and for builders," says Willems. "We're feeding off each other's expertise and experience to deliver the most comprehensive consumer resource in the region."

As of the next issue of Capital Region New Homes and the next version of our site rollout, our collective properties will be completely co-branded and integrated.   

OK, But why should you care?

That's the important question. As a consumer, what difference will this partnership make? 

Well, for one, this team-up will give us at NHA the means and opportunity to expand and evolve faster than ever before, which means more features and more areas served sooner than would have been possible otherwise. 

And on that last point, this partnership will also help us to leverage a more powerful combined brand and expand across to province so that prospective home-buyers anywhere in Ontario can enjoy the same convenient searching experience as those in Ottawa now do. 

As well, since NHA is still a fairly young service, linking up with an established media group just gives us one more notch of credibility to convince the few builders who haven't decided to offer their listings with us that they should get on the bus! For you, that means a broader, more complete selection for you to choose from on our site, and that has always been our main goal.

The bottom line is this: the NHA team and the Capital Region New Homes team both share a desire to provide all the unbiased information necessary to prospective buyers so that they can make educated decisions about buying new homes. 

We think that the lack of this information is one of the reasons that many choose to buy resale homes rather than new ones, and that's something we'd like to change. 

In fact, John Willems sums up our sentiments well: 

"I wonder how many more people will consider buying new homes new that there's a centralized location of listings data, working together with a leading print publication," he says. "Because ultimately, our services together just make the whole selection process a lot more convenient."

We hope the answer to his question is "many, many more."

In the previous segment of this 2-part series we looked at some different ways to use online tools to help find the home of your dreams in an unfamiliar city (although the same tools could be used to find a home in your own city too.) 

Today, we follow up on that post by highlighting some utilities that will help you become comfortable with your new neighbourhood after you've found a winner, but before the big move. 

Two of the main concerns expressed by new homeowners are the proximity of their new house to convenience destinations like grocery stores, restaurants etc., and the closeness to important institutions like schools for children. Here are some ways that you can put those concerns to rest using some Google Maps tricks and Google Maps-based services online.

Nearby Amenities

Before moving to a brand new area, it's always nice to know which, if any, amenities are nearby; and particularly which ones are within walking distance. 

Luckily, with a great Google Maps-based service called WalkScore.com, you can find out exactly what types of restaurants, stores, bars, cinemas and more destinations are within walking distance from any address in North America or the UK. 

This little tool was also brought to my attention by my friend and social media expert Rahaf Harfoush over at TheFoush.com, and it is definitely worth checking out for anyone who is moving to an unknown area. As you can see in the screenshot at the top of this post, the Google Maps on WalkScore feature overlays of commonly sought amenities like the ones I mentioned earlier, and in a side tab it shows the estimated distance of each one from your home. 

Even if you don't intend to walk a lot in your new city (though we should all consider doing so for the sake of the planet), this tool will still give you a pretty detailed bird's eye view of how conveniently located your home may or may not be. It's worth a look - after all, if you find you're 30 kilometres from the nearest grocery store, that might be less than desirable!

As a bonus, in many major American cities, WalkScore also features Google StreetView integration, which means you can actually see the routes from street level as though you were walking along the sidewalk. It doesn't get much better than that for checking out a new neighborhood from afar. (StreetView will be rolled out eventually in Canadian and British cities, despite initial holdups around privacy concerns, and when it is I'm sure we'll see WalkScore integration for those addresses as well.) 

Schools

For those of you with children, another important feature of any new home will be its proximity to local schools. Obviously, it's great to know how far your little ones will have to trek by foot or bus every morning to get to class.

For this particular tidbit of information, we can use Google Maps and a simple little search query that I'll show you now to find a list of all the primary and secondary schools in your area on an easy-to-interpret map. 

First, go directly to Google Maps and when you get there, type the following into the search bar:

category: "Schools Academic Elementary & Secondary" near YOURADDRESS

Obviously, you will need to replace "YOURADRESS" with the address of your new home (be as specific as possible). As you can see on the screenshot above, this query should give you a nice map with all the elementary and secondary schools in the immediate vicinity of your home. Here's a link to another Ottawa example of the query in action.

You can also click the link at the top of the left column that says "Refine by: Distance" to narrow or widen your net by kilometre radius. 

 

I've tried this tactic for several major cities in Canada and the US and it seems to work quite well in all of them, but keep in mind that this tool is only as good as the data available to Google Maps, so your mileage may vary if your local school district does not publicly list school locations. 

With these tricks and tools, combined with those we covered in the first installment, you should be able to find the perfect home, and get an excellent idea of all the amenities and schools available in your new neighborhood, all before you've even visited in person. How's that for technology improving the way we live?

Have we missed any great tools in this roundup series that you would use to get to find a home from a different city and/or get to know the neighbourhood? If so, please feel free to share in the comments! 

FIND YOUR DREAM HOME

The homebuilding industry is so competitive and the incentive to cut corners and lower prices so great for builders, that when companies go above and beyond to ensure that the quality of their product exceeds customers' expectations, they deserve to be recognized. 

Today, Mattamy Homes falls into that category. The builder, which has developments in Southern Ontario, Ottawa Ontario, Calgary Alberta, Minneapolis Minnesota, Phoenix Arizona, Jacksonville Florida and Charlotte North Carolina, has been awarded the prestigious J.D. Power award for Highest Rank in Satisfying New-Home Buyers for the third consecutive year!

Each year, J.D. Power and Associates conducts a survey of new home purchasers across Canada to rank all builders by customer satisfaction. They ask questions to evaluate companies like Mattamy in 8 different categories, which are, in descending order of weighted importance: Home readiness, construction and site teams, warranty service, sales staff, price and value, physical design, home quality, and design centre.

This year, Mattamy scored 893 out of a possible 1000 to top the field, with industry-leading rankings in all 8 categories. Congratulations are in order - a three-peat victory in customer satisfaction is truly something to be proud of!

All Builders Continue to Improve

Another point worth mentioning about this year's survey results is that overall customer satisfaction has increased across the board for all builders for the 4th straight year as well. This is great news for consumers!

"Builders should feel proud of their achievements in satisfying new-home buyers over the past four years," says Mark Thibeault of J.D. Power. "The majority of builders -- not simply a select few -- have contributed to this overall improvement, which bodes well for homeowners."

The questionnaire also asked respondents about their primary source of information on builders and their products and the most overwhelming answer to this question is telling, if not entirely surprising: recommendations from friends, family and colleagues. The study also found a clear correlation between those who rated builders a 9 or 10 out of 10 and those who were willing to provide a recommendation for that company to friends and family. (Again, not rocket science here.)

"When prospective buyers are in the market for a new home, they look to a trusted resource to assist with their decision-making resource," says Thibault, "and those builders with a track record of high customer satisfaction performance will have a distinct competitive advantage in a softening housing market."

It is great to see that builders here in Canada are taking customer satisfaction really seriously, and that homebuyers are willing to repay the best of the best in the industry by referring them to their friends and family. After all, for all the talk you'll see on this blog outlining innovative ways to find new home information on the web, you still can't beat good old word of mouth recommendations when it comes to finding a builder you can trust. 

Here at NewHomeAssociation.ca, we strive to provide the most comprehensive information about new home developments in Ottawa (and soon other major markets.) In light of this study, however, do you think we could improve our existing offering by providing an area within each model profile for clients to leave testimonials for builders and their products as well? We'd love to hear your feedback, so please let us know what you think in the comments!