Parade of Homes

doLLArs And sense nEW HOMES HAvE SurPrISIng COST BEnEFITS 4 Parade of Homes FALL 2015 SEPTEMBEr 12 to OCTOBEr 4 2015 Parade of Homes Publisher Bob Cox editor Pat St. germain Vice President sales laurie Finley Manager of niche Products Barb Borden design & colour serVices Corinne Ball/Coral Enterprises contributing Writers Wendy King Todd lewys Jennifer McFee laurie nealin Pat St. germain Jon Waldman PhotograPhy darcy Finley Marianne Helm numerous Supplied Mhba board of directors Jason Jaquet, Chair rAndAll HOMES lTd. glenda Sobie, Past Chair vEnTurA CuSTOM HOMES lTd. Brian Arnold, 1st vice Chair TrIKOr BuIldErS Spencer Curtis, 2nd vice Chair HIlTOn HOMES John lund, Secretary-Treasurer STEInBACH CrEdIT unIOn John daniels, director QuAlICO lTd. laurie Finley, director WInnIPEg FrEE PrESS Alan gray, director vACuFlO MAnITOBA Tanya Maric, director MArIC HOMES Janet Milne, director MIlnE HOMES lTd. Andrew reimer, director All-FAB BuIldIng COMPOnEnTS InC. laurence rosenberg, director THE ACCurATE TECHnOlOgy grOuP Cont'd on page 14 BUyiNg A FixER-UppER and investing time and elbow grease to turn it into a dream home is one way to go. But there's a better way — you could just buy that dream home and save your elbow, and maybe some money, too. Manitoba Home Builders' Association president Mike Moore says costs for labour and material have increased at moderate rates in recent years, while land costs have risen sharply, making a new home today comparable in price to an existing home. "The gap maybe at one time used to be fairly wide — now, not at all because a lot of it is the price of land keeps going up," Moore says. Signature Homes sales manager Jeff McArthur, who sells existing homes as a realtor with Maximum realty, agrees a new home is just as affordable as a used one. "Absolutely. The homes that are 20, 25 years old are selling for the same price as a new home or possibly more," he says. And buyers have to consider the potential added costs of unexpected repairs or renovations. by Pat st. germain – Photos by darcy finley 'The homes that are 20, 25 years old are selling for the same price as a new home or possibly more' FAll 2015

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