Parade of Homes featuring the best of new homes in Manitoba, Canada
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1526195
FALL 2024 PARADE of HOMES 113 SINGLE FAMILY CONDOS STARTING AT $449,900 LOCATED 7 MINUTES SOUTH OF THE CITY ON HWY 59 GRANDEPOINTEMEADOWS.COM VISIT A SHOW HOME! Families chosen for Habitat homes need to put in 500 hours of labour as their "down payment" on their home, then make interest-free mortgage payments back to Habitat Manitoba after moving in. "Many people think Habitat gives houses away, but we don't. Families have to work hard and make payments towards purchasing the house based on what's affordable for them," says Jamie Hall, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Manitoba. "We create a path of possibility for each family. We want to lift them up and help make generational change by addressing their housing costs and developing a program that meets their income level." But the support doesn't end when a family gets the keys and moves in. Habitat Manitoba strives to build sustainable communities and "green" carbon-neutral homes that exceed National Build Code energy-efficiency standards — and its commitment to keeping energy bills low helps ensure each family can be successful as homeowners. "Habitat builds among the most energy- efficient homes in the province. The reason is we focus on the families — we want the purchase price to be affordable, but we also want the cost of operating their house to be manageable in the long run," Hall explains. "By building energy-efficient houses, we can keep their costs down. We build with electric furnaces and we target to have their hydro bill below $100 a month, with heat and all electricity included." Earlier this year, Habitat Manitoba announced a partnership with Efficiency Manitoba, which works to develop and support energy-efficiency initiatives to reduce provincial consumption of electricity and natural gas by offering cost-effective programs and services to Manitobans. While the two organizations have been collaborating for years, and Habitat Manitoba has taken advantage of residential incentive programs, formalizing the partnership allows Habitat to explore even more ways of serving families while also helping Efficiency Manitoba do things like integrate new technologies. "Habitat builds among the most energy-efficient homes in the province. The reason is we focus on the families — we want the purchase price to be affordable, but we also want the cost of operating their house to be manageable in the long run." – JAMIE HALL, CEO, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY MANITOBA PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY