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n recent years, the housing market has seen an unprecedented surge in demand, leading to a severe shortage of affordable homes.
It’s not an ideal situation for first-time homebuyers, especially in northern Ontario: due to high costs and limited availability, families are often priced out of the market before they’ve even begun to shop for their starter home.
The spike in prices, coupled with higher interest rates, have led homebuyers to seek out new solutions.
“In the Toronto area, $700,000 would buy you a fixer-upper,” Wholesale Housing owner Bill Allen said. “You might get a building lot with a 2,000 square foot house, and brand new you’d be looking at $900,000,”.
“What young couple can spend close to a million dollars to buy a home? It's a tough situation.”
That’s where Allen’s company, Wholesale Housing, comes in.
The Stouffville-based company specialises in an innovative solution to the housing crunch: pre-fab homes and garden suites, built with cost-saving potential in mind.
“In the last few years we’ve found a growing interest in our products, especially the garden suites, which are 700 square feet up to 1,100 square feet. All homes average about $225. a square foot. delivered to Matheson area - roughly ½ the cost to build in the Northern Ontario communities. In the Toronto area our bungalows (1165 s.f. to 1717 s.f.) save the customer about $150,000. over the cost to build the identical home on site and most are installed in a week. We expect the cost savings in Northern Ontario will be greater”.
That could put house affordability back on the books for homebuyers.
How does a Garden Suite fit into my home buying plans?
The Ontario government is getting behind the idea of allowing more garden suites – detached structures within an existing residential property containing its own living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom – opening up a whole market for smaller, affordable homes.
And the setup and transportation of the product is both efficient and cost-effective.
“We deliver the 700 square foot and 900 square foot model right to the site,” Allen said. “They come completely equipped, right off the truck. Hydro, water and gas systems, everything is already set up in home and ready to go.”
One of Wholesale Housings’ most popular models is The Huron, a two-bedroom garden suite that retails for $149,900, delivered to Matheson area. It meets Ontario building code and A277 Principal residence codes.
For 19 years Wholesale Housing Inc. has been the only supplier of homes to all the western provinces, the Yukon, On.,NWT, NB, NS, and NL.
Another model is the Glen Haven, a 907 s.f. 3 bedroom, 1 bath — $169,000. delivered to Matheson area. All models are loaded with standard options and a few thousand in upgrades. That includes an 8 per cent HST rebate from the government.
Quality-built Modular Homes
By providing high-quality homes at competitive prices – built according to the Ontario Building Code and CSA-A277 standards – Wholesale Housing provides a more accessible route to homeownership.
Additionally, homes from Wholesale Housing boast numerous standard options that typically come at a premium with other builders. The company’s modular homes and garden suites come complete with Amish-made hardwood maple cabinetry (that doesn’t come in most $600,000. site-built homes), Whirlpool hi-efficiency appliances, Trane 95% efficient furnace, Pella windows, 6” walls, 10” floors, entire home ½ “ gyprock and other new features — all as standard options.
Allen said that Fairmont homes come with a sturdy mark of craftsmanship. Click here to see Fairmonts’ amazing “assembly line of Manufactured Homes”
“It also comes with mini blinds, curtains, shutters, fixtures, potlights, smoke detectors, double-door fridge, stove, dishwasher, furnace, water heater, electric panel, bathtub, shower, etc., etc.” Allen said.
In short, the prefab method may be the solution to getting more homebuyers into their first home.
Another advantage of buying a house from Wholesale Housing is the quicker construction time. These homes are built within a controlled factory environment using dry materials, resulting in superior structural strength and minimal expansion and contraction issues often associated with site-built structures. Here’s a dramatic example of factory construction: dozens and dozens of homes delivered to western Canada and as far away as Inuvik in NT, with NO “popped drywall screws”.
Staff at Fairmont Homes fully assemble each house at their facility before shipping them with running gear (axles, wheels, and tires). That means lower transportation and installation costs for homeowners. Again, the savings get passed on to the homebuyer.
For more information about Wholesale Housing, visit them online here.