It’s Georgie time: the 19th annual Georgie Awards are revving up to recognize excellence in B.C. builders and renovators ›› p.2

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Putting your work forward for extremely close inspection and judging by industry peers can be a daunting prospect.

Yet that’s exactly what many B.C. home-builders, renovators, developers, designers

and marketers have done, in order to enter this year’s Georgie Awards, the province’s premier housing event.

Named after Captain George Vancouver, the Georgies were started by a group of industry professionals in 1992 as a way to provide value to the residential construction industry and communities throughout Brit-ish Columbia.

“It was a way to showcase and celebrate the excellent work that local people do in our industry,” says Scott Whitemarsh, executive

producer of the Georgie Awards.Owned by the Canadian Homebuild-

ers’ Association of B.C., the awards aim to highlight the commitment and dedication to the high standards that CHBA BC member companies strive to hold.

Whitemarsh says that quality is obvious when one sees the finalists – from a French country manor in Anmore to an eco-rain-forest retreat in Tofino to a West Coast zen

Georgies: going for goldExcellence in the industry recognized with awards

Canadian Homebuilders’ Association of British Columbia CEO MJ Whitemarsh,

left, and CHBA BC president Vicki Gerrits prepare to hand out a coveted Georgie

Award. Martin Knowles photo

CONTINUED ON P.2

For the first time in more than a year, housing affordability improved in Canada in the third quarter of 2010, ac-cording to a report released Monday by RBC Economics.

The Housing Trends and Affordability report says a drop in mortgage rates and some softening in home prices made it easier for Canadian buyers to purchase their homes in recent months, after four consecutive quarters of rising home ownership costs.

“The improvement in affordability during the third quarter has relieved some of the stress that had been mount-ing in Canada’s housing market over the past year,” says RBC senior economist Robert Hogue.

The report notes that, at the national level, the third-quarter improvement in affordability reversed almost two-thirds of the cumulative deterioration that took place over the previous four quarters.

RBC’s Housing Affordability Measure calculates how much pre-tax income is required to cover all the costs associated with owning a home.

All provinces saw improvements in housing affordability in the third quar-ter, especially British Columbia, but the cost of home ownership in B.C. remains high by historical standards, the report notes.

“Higher mortgage rates will be the dominant factor raising home ownership costs beyond the short-term, although increasing household income – as the job situation continues to strengthen in in Canada – will provide some positive offset,” Hogue says.

“We expect housing demand and sup-ply to remain mostly in balance overall, setting the course for very modest home price increases.”

For the full report, visit www.rbc.com/economics/

Housing affordability improves

December 2, 2010

2 New Local Home December 2, 2010

gem in South Surrey – because “there isn’t any sub-par work.”

“The product speaks for itself,” he says.CHBA BC president Vicki Gerrits, who has

been a Georgie finalist 46 times and won 16 gold Georgies with her company Hom-escape Building and Design, agrees.

“It’s a very high level of competi-tion. We’re a small-volume builder and we entered for the first time in 1996. And it was probably one of the single best things we could have ever done,” Gerrits says.

“It’s an automatic quantifier, a third-part endorsement ... it’s so valuable to have someone else tell other people that you’re good at what you do.”

With the 19th annual awards underway, people now recognize the Georgie Award symbol and know what the awards are, Gerrits says, noting she always displays her Georgie logos proudly.

But you don’t have to win a Georgie to feel proud, she adds.

“Anyone who is a finalist should be proud of what they’ve accomplished. When you see the product, the competition you’re up against ... it’s incredible.”

Portrait Homes, for example, snagged 11 Georgie finalist spots for its work in the master-planned community of Silver Ridge in Maple Ridge – a development that has already been recognized with more than 80 industry

awards. A Georgie Award is recognized as an “industry stamp of quality,” notes a Portrait release.

“We’re all very pleased to be finalists,” says Portrait Homes marketing and sales man-ager Troy Steine.

“We are fortunate to have such a beautiful place to build, but (the recognition) is great. It reinforces that we’re doing the right thing.”

That sentiment is echoed at Clay Con-struction, where owner and president Larry Clay has been named a finalist twice for two luxurious South Surrey homes he built in Morgan Heights.

The high-end homebuilder says it’s his first time entering the Georgie Awards.

“We are super excited. To even be a finalist ... it’s a real honour,” Clay says.

“We find that customers who want high-end homes know who the Georgie winners are.”

Whitemarsh notes the awards are becom-ing more consumer-focused, with a new Customer Choice Georgie powered by AVID ratings, and two new categories that reflect local trends in homebuilding and renovat-ing: Best Outdoor Living Space and Best Condo Renovation.

More and more people are seeking to create outdoor living areas, or extensions of their indoor space, while sales and renos of older condos are on the rise, Whitemarsh says.

Finalists in all 43 categories were selected from hundreds of nominations by a judging panel brought in from outside the province.

Judges are always from other provinces or the U.S. to ensure impartiality, and are chosen for their experience in the industry and expertise in their field, he notes.

“I think it’s important to recognize the professional builders and renovators out there, for their leadership and innovation as well as their high-quality work,” says Whitemarsh.

“Not a lot of people want to stand up and be scrutinized by their peers.”

Winners will be honoured at a gala event in Vancouver March 5.

Visit www.georgieawards.ca for more information, including a full list of finalists.

‘A very high level of competition’CONTINUED FROM P.1

Clay Construction (top two: kitchen, out-door living area and below: front door) is one of many local builders and renovators named as a Georgie Award finalist. So is Portrait Homes and its Stoneleigh (left: liv-ing area and below: exterior) and Brighton (above: patio) neighbourhoods, located in its master-planned community of Silver Ridge in Maple Ridge.

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GEORGIETIME

New Local Home December 2, 2010 3

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*In the continuing effort to meet the challenge of product improvement, we reserve the right to modify or change plans, site plans, specifications or prices without notice. Renderings are an artist’s conception only and are intended as general reference only. All dimensions and sizes are approximate. Prices exclude taxes. E.&O.E. Marketing & Sales by: Portrait Homes Realty Ltd.

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4 New Local Home December 2, 2010