Built from scratch or off the shelf, which new home to buy?

Buying a tailored suit to fit your specific needs is always nice, but if you need the suit right away chances are there isn’t time to wait for a custom made one. Such is also the case when it comes to homes.

Building a new home from scratch where you get to choose everything from the floorplan to the finishes is the ideal many new homebuyers hope for, but sometimes the timing isn’t right, and they need to move in right away. This is where the spec home or move-in-ready home comes handy.

But what is the difference between building a home of your own from scratch or buying a pre-made one? Turns out there really isn’t much.

Both are new homes that no one has lived in before. The main difference is the time of possession. Homebuilders offer spec homes because not every homebuyer has months to wait for their new home to be built. This also allows builders to keep their team of tradespersons busy.

The builder spec home has been a tried-and-true industry standard. A spec home is industry speak for a home that is built before a homebuyer makes a purchase. It is constructed using builder specifications (hence, “spec”) and most are move-in ready or at least available for a quick possession.

With the recent supply chain and labour issues, building any kind of new home has been challenging. These days possession of a pre-sale home can take anywhere from 10 months to a year. The spec home gets a step ahead as the homebuilder starts building the home on their own, the trade-off is the buyer has limited choice in establishing the look of this home.

We spoke to a few of Calgary’s most recognizable builders to get their insights on the spec building standard, and help buyers decide whether building a new home from scratch or buying a spec home is the right move.

Broadview Homes

Broadview Homes builds in eight of the most popular communities in the Calgary region, and they have a variety of quick possession models that can fit most of today’s lifestyle needs. The strong demand for new homes is putting a strain on their inventory though.

“Normally we run with about 30-40 quick possession homes but right now it is hard to keep the inventory at these levels due to the demand,” says Broadview Marketing Manager, Andrew Mackenzie. “The last couple years there was an influx of pre-sales, but we are working diligently to increase our spec levels as we are finding they are being absorbed more quickly than in the past.”

Most spec home buyers are customers looking for a quick turnaround, he says. “Whether they just sold their home, moving here for work, or various other reasons, they want to move in sooner than later.”

The spec home helps buyers plan out their move better. “No new homebuyer wants to move twice if they can help it. Purchasing a spec home alleviates that problem! Unless you can time the Sale of your home perfectly moving twice is almost inevitable.”

Broadview has a variety of quick possession homes, from 1,400-square-foot detached homes, to 2,500-square-foot front-attached move-up homes. They can be found in Chestermere, Langdon, Airdrie and various sectors in Calgary.

“One of our most popular models is the Concord III, a detached home model with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths, which can be built in the communities of Ambleton, Vermilion Hill as well as Hotchkiss! This a great plan for a family or someone that is looking to buy their first new home!”

They have available spec homes in the communities of Painted Sky in Langdon, Creekstone in south Calgary, Ravenswood in Airdrie, and in Rivercrest in Cochrane.

“Buying a Broadview quick possession home has ton of advantages! We offer a list-for-free program where we pay the properties listing commission, we also cover your legal and disbursement fees. We also provide our Virtuo Home Concierge Service that helps take away many stresses that no one wants to deal with when moving into your new home! From transferring your utilities, mail forwarding, garbage and recycling set-up and even the coordination of moving services!” Find out more at broadviewhomescalgary.com.

Cedarglen Homes

Only the best selections go into Cedarglen Homes line of spec homes, so there is really not much difference between that and their pre-sale homes – even in price.

“Quick possession homes are not necessarily more affordable than choosing to build a new home as we often choose our best-selling models and include the most popular options and interior selections to ensure that we are offering a great home,” says Cedarglen Homes Marketing Coordinator, Janelle Twomey.

Having the in-house design team make the selections also saves the buyer the headache of doing this by themselves. “This allows homebuyers to move in sooner as well as have a more ‘hands-off’ approach to buying a brand-new home, which some individuals prefer,” she adds.

“Homebuyers who purchase quick possession homes are also able to port their existing mortgages,” Twomey says.
Cedarglen Homes currently has about 8-10 quick possession homes available, with many more to come on the market later this summer. “There has been incredibly high demand for quick possession homes this past year due to the ongoing lack of inventory on the re-sale market coupled with current mortgage rate increases. Nevertheless, as more homebuyers are introduced to new build homes, they come to understand how easy it can be to build a new home in one of Calgary’s best new communities.”

Paired homes, laned homes and front-drive garage homes are available for quick possession at Cedarglen Homes wherever they build, including Belmont, Cranston’s Riverstone in south Calgary, and Livingston, and Glacier Ridge in the north.
“Our paired homes in Glacier Ridge have been very well received as they offer the opportunity to buy a new home in northwest Calgary from the mid $500’s. We have also started building our three-storey models as quick possessions as they offer more square footage for growing families while staying on a standard size lot,” Twomey says.

She points out that the advantage to purchasing a Cedarglen Homes quick possession is that you can own a home that comes with a warranty package. We offer 1 year for labour and materials, 2 years for delivery and distribution systems, 7 years for building envelope protection and 10 years for major structural components. Find out more at cedarglenhomes.com.

Excel Homes

At Excel Homes the plan is always to streamline processes for homebuilding and make it a seamless experience for customers, so whether buying a pre-sale home or a spec home they make sure everything is on the right track.
Speaking of right, Kristina Plank, Excel Home Marketing Manager, says the biggest difference between a spec home and a pre-sale one is that you can choose everything that is right for your home with the latter.

“Buying a (pre-sale) home to build gives you the freedom to choose your lot, the floorplan, as well as all the interior selections and pre-planned options that best suit you and your family’s needs. With a spec or quick possession home, the building process has already started. Our experienced sales team and designers work together to choose the lot, floorplan, interior finishes, and pre-planned options that fit perfectly together and bring the most value to our customers.”

Like many other builders, Excel has a very limited number of spec homes due to high demand. “We are seeing a lot of migration to the province of Alberta from not only other provinces, but other countries as well. People are wanting to take possession of their home now, to avoid the uncertainty of another interest rate hike or the rapidly increasing value of homes in the Alberta market and potentially paying a higher price the longer they wait.”

Excel Homes build in 10 communities in Calgary and surrounding areas, and they currently offer laned and front-garage spec homes in Mahogany, Creekstone, and Rangeview in southeast Calgary and in Carrington and Homestead in the northeast.

“The Collingwood is one of our most popular front garage models, a 2,235 square-feet garage home with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, and a large statement foyer that leads to an open kitchen and so many pre-planned options to fit your unique needs. We currently have Collingwood spec homes in Carrington, Mahogany, Rangeview and Creekstone,” Plank says.

Excel’s website is available in over 10 languages, which works for the increasing number of new immigrant buyers they are seeing. “We also have online floorplan tools, pre-selected designer curated selections, a move-in concierge service, every home is certified Built Green®, and we’ve got your legal fees covered too, when you use our legal partner,” Plank says. “It has never been a better time to buy an Excel Home, we are celebrating our 35th year anniversary offering new and improved interior selections and special commemorative anniversary models.” Find out more at excelhomes.ca.

Sterling Homes

The new home market in Calgary is currently enjoying some of the highest demand it’s seen in years, despite the higher interest rates. Sterling Homes still thinks it’s the best time to buy.

“The Calgary real estate market is flourishing with growth in our population, allowing customers to move into a home with the potential to grow its equity while enjoying home ownership,” says Pamela Burns, Director, Sales & Marketing at Sterling Homes.

Their line of spec homes is an easy way to get into the market, especially with their curated quick possession option.
“We pick a variety of the most popular plans with interior selections that are distinct to each home. This curation process means that each home offers that unique feeling customers love to experience with a new home,” Burns says.

“The advantage of a quick possession home is moving in sooner and the benefit of having Sterling Homes complete all the selections, making the process even easier for the customer. This works for those who do not want to go through the selection process, renters who want to move into home ownership, people relocating to Calgary and locals who sell their existing home quickly. Quite often, even those that wanted a build, may consider a quick possession once they see all the selections, can select their appliances and it’s move in ready.”

Sterling Homes is in over 17 active communities in Calgary and area and customers are able to select from over 100 quick possessions at variety of stages, from foundation to move-in ready.

“We offer quick possession from duplexes to estate homes, plus select quick possession homes offer a basement suite. One of our fan favorite models is the Denali 6. It offers 3 or 4 Bedrooms in 2,200 square-feet with a large central bonus room, flex room or main floor bedroom for multigenerational living.”

One of Sterling’s advantages is the availability of multiple layouts in their spec homes as well. “We have homes with dual primary bedrooms, main floor living, spice kitchens, third storey living, basement suites and more,” Burns says, offering a wide variety of options for everyone.

“The advantage is you select a community, your quick possession home, your appliances and its that simple! Plus, Sterling includes a move in concierge and moving boxes, powered by Virtuo, making the move in process even easier,” she says. Find out more at sterlingcalgary.com.