Expert homebuying advice from Angela Marotta, Director of Sales and Marketing, Solmar

Due to COVID-19 and other factors, prospective new-home buyers are more carefully weighing location, housing type, design and amenities – and affordability – than ever before.

To help you understand all the issues to make a better, more informed homebuying decision, we went to some of the industry’s top builders and developers for expert advice, as part of our 2021 Builders' Annual.

What advice would you like to offer new-home buyers, as we approach 2022?

If there is an opportunity to buy now and get a locked in rate for at least 36 months, do it. In some areas, prices have gone up 30 to 40 per cent. Invest in real estate over anything else right now, as the current landscape will see values continuing to increase.

What is it about your company or projects that differentiates you in the marketplace, that you’d like to stress to prospective new-home buyers?

We are careful to not price ourselves out of the market. When launching a project, we assess the phasing and price for the long term to avoid excess increases. This does not mean that we are the most affordable. However, we try to maintain pricing over the term of each phase. As a developer and builder, we also try to offer a wide range of product with our projects over the course of any given year in market. We currently have two active highrise projects in Vaughan and Mississauga, with one launching shortly in Brampton, and a lowrise project in market in the town of Erin. We are developing a large master-planned community in Erin, which will see double the population growth, with about 1,400 new homes and infrastructure of parks, school and employment lands. The launch of our first phase with Cache and Lakeview homes was cited as the most successful lowrise development sales effort of 2021.

We sold 500 homes in eight days, through an virtual online platform created by Ryan Design. Our second phase launched a month later saw a sell-out in 10 days. Our current third phase, comprising mainly townhouses and our detached collection, has received more than 350 worksheets for 120 homes. We have seen a trend of buyers wanting to move away from urban centres and settling roots in these rural areas, knowing they will see an increase in equity over time, due to a shortage of homes and a low interest rate locked in for 36 months. Buyers are thinking ahead, are smarter than ever before, and know what they can afford and carry over time. As a builder, we provide choice thanks to our range of product and strategic development planning. We have seen repeat Solmar homeowners cross over from condo to townhouses to detached, which makes our team proud.

It is important that buyers look for these new rural communities to invest in and start or move up as homeowners. Closing dates may be longer, which requires patience, but they will see the long-term investment as a wise decision.

We recently had a federal election, and all the major parties promised to address housing supply and affordability. If you had the opportunity to speak directly to the Prime Minister on this topic, what would your advice be?

People are looking for wide open spaces and lowrise. There has and will continue to be a demand for condo living; however, we are seeing a growing interest in lowrise as the primary choice of home to raise a family. There is a shortage of developable lands, and the planning and zoning process has become much more complicated and rigid. Due to the low supply and high demand, home prices have been soaring. It is simple economics that is affecting many looking to get into the housing market and take pride in homeownership. In urban areas, the resale market has become very competitive, and bidding wars further drive up prices.

The government needs to have a plan to increase housing construction – easing and in some cases fast-tracking the process of developable lands. There is a fear of increasing interest rates, and if that happens, the government may have to look at a subsidy program for first-time homeowners. It will be too expensive for many of these new buyers to enter the market; home prices are not likely to decrease, due to increasing construction costs.

Canadians should have choice when it comes to deciding to buy a home. Immigration and population growth are on the rise, and all levels of government need to work together to address the housing supply shortage, and align on policy and more efficient development processes.

Governments also need to also address the influx of speculative buying for investment purposes, which reduces purchasing opportunities and availability for end consumers. Speculators drive up prices and increase competition in the market, and sometimes are forced to sell or assign due to overleverage. Imposing new standards for investors to qualify for loans would help curb the influx of these buyers.