H.O.M.E. Awards showcase excellence in the homebuilding experience

Alberta builders are picking up plenty of accolades for their top-notch products and customer service. At the Homeowner Mark of Excellence (H.O.M.E.) Awards, which took place Nov. 8 in Chicago, Alberta builders took home 21 of the top 34 awards, with Calgary and Area builders sweeping up eight of them: three for Builder of Choice and five for Best Customer Experience.

Aquilla Homes, McKee Homes, Morrison Homes, Homes by Avi and Cedarglen Living all picked up a Best Customer Experience Award — Aquilla Homes for the category Single Family 5 to 55 Homes, McKee Homes for Single Family 56 to 149 Homes and Morrison Homes for Single Family 150-plus homes. In the Multi-Family division, Homes by Avi picked up Best Customer Experience for Multi-Family up to 115 Homes, while Cedarglen Living was awarded the title for Multi-Family 116-plus Homes. Aquilla, McKee Homes and Cedarglen Living also earned the title in 2021.

Cedarglen Homes, Cedarglen Living, and McKee Homes also garnered the prestigious Builder of Choice Award, respectively winning for Single-Family 150-Plus Homes, Multi-Family 116-Plus Homes and Single Family 56 to 149 Homes.

But this isn’t the first walk in the park for these builders; they are all multi-time winners, and for some — Aquilla, McKee Homes and Cedarglen Living — ?this is their second year in a row walking away with a coveted H.O.M.E. Award.

Meanwhile, in Edmonton, several of last year’s winners also hit the stage again this year to accept their accolades. Lincolnberg Master Builder (Single Family 56 to 149 Homes) and Homes by Avi (Single Family 150-Plus Homes) both picked up both the Builder of Choice and the Best Customer Experience Award in their respective categories for the second year in a row. Averton also garnered a Best Customer Experience Award for the category Best Customer Experience, Multi-Family up to 115 Homes. First time winner, Accent Infills was awarded both the Builder of Choice and the Best Customer Service Award in the category Single Family 5 to 55 Homes.

“I’m just thrilled with the performance of all of the winners. I certainly want to congratulate them all. It has not been an easy task to keep these scores high and compete against everyone else in a marketplace that has been a little tricky over the last couple of years. I have just great admiration for those companies that go above and beyond to continue to provide that top-notch service,” says Donna Moore, customer experience manager for Constellation HomeBuilder Systems, the company behind the H.O.M.E. Awards.

The H.O.M.E. Awards is an annual North America-wide competition that showcases excellence in the homebuilding experience. Winners are chosen by those who matter the most: the homeowners through a series of surveys conducted online by CustomerInsight, a customer survey provider for the residential construction industry and subsidiary of Constellation HomeBuilder Systems.

Both the Best Customer Service Award and the Builder of Choice Award are granted to builders achieving superior results — Best Customer Service for highest overall customer satisfaction and Builder of Choice for highest customer, employee and trade satisfaction.

“Builders compete against their peers in their own marketplace, which makes it very competitive and very exciting,” says Moore.

Rounding out the Alberta winners are Central Alberta’s Colbray Homes (also a winner in 2021) and Southern Alberta’s Ashcroft Master Builder, both picking up a Best Customer Experience Award.

Moore says that the awards offer an excellent snapshot into both the quality of the home product and into the customer experience along each and every step of the homebuilding process and beyond.

“Builders can deliver a great house, but how do they manage that warranty process and that communication throughout the first year? That is what our builder leaders really pride themselves on — that ability to communicate and make the entire experience a really happy one,” says Moore.

This was the 12^th annual H.O.M.E. Awards and the first year that it has been held in conjunction with the Build Smarter Annual Conference, as well as the first time it has been held in-person for three years. The event was also live-streamed. For the full list of winners and finalists, visit homeownermark.com/h-o-m-e-gold/