Loving laned homes

By Pepper Rodriguez
May 26, 2021

The love for laned homes is real. In fact, it’s so well-loved right now that homebuilders are having a hard time keeping up with demand for what some have called today’s fairy tale home.

Laned homes refer to how parking spaces are accessed, says Mike DeBoer, Manager of Operations at Genesis Builders Group. “Most typically, laned homes will have a porch or veranda facing the street and a parking pad or detached garage accessed off the rear lane,” he says. He does add that Genesis does have front-drive garage homes in Homestead with rear lane access as well.

But the traditional laned home is the fairy tale home for many homebuyers because of its street-friendly façade. It is also easily the most affordable detached, single-family home option that makes the homeowning dream come true.

Excel Homes’ Marketing Manager, Kristina Plank, says the laned homes offer privacy and versatility and so much more to the new homebuyer, especially first-timers.

“One of the biggest selling factors for a laned home is that they are typically a more affordable option, making them very appealing for new homeowners. Another great feature is you own your own piece of land, giving you a backyard where you can choose to add a detached garage or keep the green space, which is great for families!” she says.

Trico Homes Marketing Manager, Glenda Schwartz says laned homes also trump front drive garage homes in curb appeal. “Compared to front attached garage you have the opportunity to create gorgeous curb appeal. You can have beautiful landscaping rather than a driveway in front of your home.”

Excel Homes, Genesis Builders Group, and Trico Homes are all opening new laned home showhomes in the new northeast community of Homestead. Calbridge Homes also offers laned homes in Calgary, Cochrane and Airdrie.

Important market segment

For Excel Homes, the laned homes are a big part of their line-up. “Our laned home sales make up 30 per cent or more of our business. They are a great stepping-stone for families to get into the housing market as they are well priced and offer the benefits of owning a single-family home. Our floor plans are spacious, and well designed for growing families. They are very desirable for a large portion of our market and offer a great deal of flexibility and versatility.”

Kelsey Orvis, marketing coordinator at Genesis Builders Group, says the laned homes is a growing segment in their production. “We’re currently at about 15 per cent laned homes, but with Homestead coming online we will be increasing that to about 25 per cent,” she says. “It is important to us that we provide a quality entry point to the market or an affordable yet efficient downsizer option.”

Maintaining a presence

Excel Homes has always believed in the laned home and they offer this in most of the communities where they build, including Airdrie, Calgary and Cochrane, Plank says.

“Our newest laned showhome is the Burton, in the community of Heartland in Cochrane.

We are also excitedly awaiting the grand opening of four new Calgary laned showhomes this summer: the Windsor and the Dawson in Homestead, and the Dawson and the Bellevue in Livingston!” Both communities are in the north quadrants of the city.

Excel also has laned showhomes in Savanna in the northeast (The Bellevue), Carrington in the northwest (the Dawson), and in Walden in the southeast (The Huntley).” Our laned models range from 1,435 to 1,825 square-feet, with prices starting from the low $400,000s.

“A commonly asked question is do we have any laned homes with an exterior entrance to the basement. The answer to this is: yes! We offer legal basement suites in select communities,” she adds. For more information, go to www.excelhomes.ca.

Multi-generational models

Genesis Builders Group believes their laned homes designed for multi-generational households will be a hit in the new community of Homestead. Their laned home models here can come with spice kitchens, a main floor bedroom, and, of course, a complete basement suite.

“We’ve just built a brand new model in Homestead as a showhome called the Ruben. We’ve taken all of the elements that are appealing in a Front Drive Home and re-created it an efficiently laid out laned home. At 1,932 square feet, three-beds and two-and-a-half baths it is still quite large. You can upgrade and add a main floor bedroom and even a spice kitchen,” Orvis says.

Genesis has five other laned models available starting from the low $400,000s and range from 1,102 up to 1,932 square-feet. For more information, go to www.genesisbuilds.com.

More for less

Calbridge Homes has established a reputation as a premier custom home or luxury home builder, but Nicole Ziemann, Calbridge Homes Sales Manager, says that is only a fraction of what they produce. “Laned home opportunities make up about 40 per cent of our overall single-family production in Calgary, Airdrie, and Cochrane.”

Like many other homebuilders, Calbridge has noticed the spike in laned home demand and is releasing more models in more new communities this year, noting they won’t have quick possession laned homes until early 2022.

“We have several exciting new laned home models in development that will be offered in Alpine Park (in the southwest) and Sage Hill Crest (in the northwest) this summer. Our existing laned models are available in Fireside of Cochrane and Bayview in Airdrie.”
Selling well is the Stewart laned home, which has a central room, which is rare for this type of home. “Laned homes don’t often offer a bonus room due to square footage but this model is intentionally designed to maximize space. The sizes of bedrooms were not sacrificed to make this work too,” she adds. Current laned models start from the $440,000s. Go to www.calbridgehomes.com for more.

Newest models

Schwartz says Trico’s newest laned homes are opening soon in Homestead and they include some of their most popular models, including the Raeya, which may be its most versatile model yet.

“This home can accommodate a main floor bedroom, four bedrooms on the upper floor and a two-bedroom legal suite basement development for a possible of seven bedrooms without compromising a spacious feeling and usability.”

Trico’s laned homes in Homestead range from a 1,081 square-foot bungalow starting at $414,900 to an 1,802 square-foot two-storey model starting at $449,900.

“Our laned homes in Homestead are conveniently located near the entrance of the community for
easy access to and from the area. We also have spacious corner home sites available for those looking for a larger yard or garage.” For more, go to www.tricohomes.com.

About Pepper Rodriguez

Pepper Rodriguez is a writer, editor of New Home + Condo Guide's Calgary and Edmonton editions.

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