Expert homebuying advice from Frank Spaziani, President, Kylemore Communities

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?

Purchase a home in a location that meets your current needs and where you will want to reside in the future. Look for designs offering flexibility and that can adapt to how your family will live, grow, age, celebrate, relax, enjoy recreation and, possibly, work in. Do your research to find a new home builder that offers these components. By putting your hard-earned dollars into homeownership, you are on the right track to a secure future.

There’s been a lot of discussion about wellness and new home design to address emerging needs coming out of the pandemic. What’s your take on this?

In 2019 pre-pandemic, Kylemore introduced a brand refresh to focus on Wellness within the built environment. Our positioning is reflected in our tagline “Live. Wellness.” These words signify a commitment by the Kylemore team to design and construct with wellness in mind. The emphasis on wellness takes our brand into the future while building on our past success.

A home is typically our most important personal investment. To us, it is logical that they should also be an investment in our clients’ overall health and well-being.

The homes we are selling at Angus Glen South Village in Markham today were designed and refined during the pandemic, and we took the opportunity to make further additions to the wellness components we were already including. These homes provide options for the modern and multi-generational family, with in-law and nanny suites, coach houses, home offices, yoga/meditation and fitness rooms, ample laundry rooms, craft rooms, large open gathering areas as well as quiet, private spaces. Our homes also include features such as large triple-glazed windows throughout for added insulation properties, improved sound and indoor air quality, and high ceilings that promote good air circulation. They also allow for oversized windows and doors where interiors will benefit from lots of natural light, views and connection to the outdoors, solar panel ready rough-in and complete electric vehicle charging connections, low VOC paints and adhesives, smart home technology for continuous monitoring of humidity, security, heating and cooling and managing energy costs.

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 do offer something different; we are a luxury homebuilder that also creates master-planned communities providing families with parks, open spaces, access to schools, and convenient retail areas and exclusive membership to Angus Glen Golf Club, which is the hub of our community. We include a range of homes that give residents the opportunity to move up and scale down, while remaining in a complete community that they love. We also provide an abundance of choice in features and finishes, including options for customization.

How is your company addressing the affordability issue?

Kylemore supports the City of Markham’s affordable housing initiative to create inclusive, modern communities. We will work with staff to achieve the desired planning objectives for affordable housing, as well as many other components, specifically in transit-oriented developments such as our Langstaff-Gateway community. In Angus Glen South Village, we have several home designs that include self-contained Coach Houses, as well as larger layouts suitable for multiple generations under one roof.

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?

Focus investment on creating rapid transit transportation such as what exists in London, Paris and New York. And recognizing that the onset of the pandemic has fostered the ability for work-from-home options and job place flexibility, we need as much support as possible to add to the existing housing stock in communities people want to live in.

kylemoreliving.ca