Ontario Construction News staff writer
Tarion has announced the nominees and recipients of its annual Homeowners’ Choice Awards for builders who received the highest ratings from new home buyers and homeowners across the province.
The warranty organization said Waito Homes of Petawawa earned the Ernest Assaly Award for an Ontario builder who demonstrates a continued commitment to customer service, community involvement and building quality and innovative housing.
While Tarion’s Homeowners’ Choice Awards focus primarily on customer service, the Ernest Assaly Award is similar to a lifetime achievement award.
“As an organization dedicated to improving consumer experiences in the home purchasing process, it’s important that we periodically recognize excellence from builders who, in the opinion of their homeowners, have provided positive customer service,” Peter Balasubramanian, president and CEO of Tarion, said in a statement last Friday. “These awards are based on customer experience and service opinions gathered from homeowners through an independent survey process. As we continually work to modernize our organization to ensure fairness and predictability across the sector, we want to congratulate builders who have contributed to positive experiences for so many Ontarians.
Tarion says the Homeowners’ Choice Awards focus exclusively on customer service and are informed by surveys completed by new home buyers and homeowners from across the province.
In 2019, Tarion surveyed 45,303 new home buyers and homeowners and asked them about their builder’s level of commitment to their customers and performance before, during and after they moved into their new home. “We were pleased to see that more than 8,500 homeowners responded, determining the recipients of the 2020 Homeowners’ Choice Awards.” the home warranty organization said.
The 2020 winners are:
- Kelos Homes Limited, Thunder Bay – Small Volume Category
- Talos Custom Homes Ltd., Richmond – Medium Volume Category
- Hayhoe Homes, St. Thomas – Large Volume Category
- Plazacorp Investments, Toronto – High-Rise Category
The finalists of the 2020 Homeowners’ Choice Awards are:
Small Volume Category (5-20 possessions per year: Benam Construction, St-Isidore; Brexon Homes Ltd., Waterloo; Davis New Homes & Developments, Frankford; Lockwood Brothers Construction, Oxford Station; and Pinnacle Quality Homes, Mitchell
Medium Volume Category (21-100 possessions per year): Candue Homes, Durham; Hilden Homes Ltd., Belleville; Klemencic Homes, Trenton; Royal Homes, Wingham and Wrighthaven Homes Limited, Fergus
Large Volume Category (More than 100 possessions per year): Activa, Waterloo; Branthaven, Burlington; Brookfield Residential, Toronto; Great Gulf Homes, Toronto; and Uniform Urban Developments, Ottawa
High-Rise Category (More than 100 high-rise possessions per year): Centrecourt Developments, Toronto; Madison Group, Toronto; Minto Communities, Ottawa; The Tricar Group, London and Tridel.
The finalists of the 2020 Ernest Assaly Award were: Castell Homes, London; Westerra Homes, Kemptville andWilson Developments (Lindsay) Inc.