More Attainable Homes in Calgary
Multi-family units part of home buying program for middle-income families
A program helping middle-income Calgarians afford their first home has expanded its inventory with townhomes at two sites in a northeast Calgary community.
Multi-family developments by Genesis Builders Group dubbed Ashbury and Laurels — both in Saddlestone — each have units now available through Attainable Homes Calgary Corp.’s home ownership program.
“They’re a nice fit for us,” says John Harrop, president and CEO of Attainable Homes, of the units at both developments.
Attainable Homes runs a homeownership program aimed at helping middle-income Calgarians afford the down payment on a new home.
Through the program, people can purchase a home for a down payment of $2,000. Applicants must qualify for a mortgage and not earn more than $80,000 annually. People with dependent children can earn up to $90,000.
Attainable purchases its housing inventory at reduced prices from builders interested in giving back to middle-income Calgarians.
Working with Attainable Homes makes sense, says Nancy Smith, sales manager for Genesis Builders Group.
“Genesis believes in families building their lives in comfortable homes and communities,” Smith says. “We are happy to be aligning with Attainable Homes as they make home ownership possible.
“This is a major step for hardworking families and getting a down payment can be the biggest hurdle so we appreciate that Attainable assists them with this process.”
The recent acquisitions include “two unique townhome products,” says Harrop.
There are eight townhomes at Laurels where prices start from the $334,000s, and six townhomes from Ashbury, with prices starting from $229,680.
On the units at the Laurels development — all in a two bedroom configuration — Harrop says they offer “really good family accommodations.”
“You have larger homes, they’re (1,455 to 1,463 square feet), so really good for a family but still very affordable,” he adds.
About a block away from Laurels, Attainable Homes has single-level stacked units on the ground level. These all come in one and 1.5 bathroom layouts and are 838 square feet.
Genesis is continuing to sell at both of these developments, as well. It’s down to the final three units of 24 in total at Ashbury. Here, there are two townhomes that the builder calls pond units, measuring 1,738 square feet, and one courtyard unit that measures 1,499 square feet.
Courtyard units are $355,000 and pond units are from $395,000.
At Laurels, 46 of the 54 units are available. They include twobedroom, 1,455-square-foot floor plans from $335,000 and threebedroom, 1,519-square-foot townhomes from $347,000.
Townhomes at the Laurels have a garage and the units at Ashbury have surface parking.
Saddlestone is a community by Genesis Land developing within the existing Saddle Ridge area. It’s near existing schools, established commercial development — including a Safeway and Shoppers Drug Mart, and an expansive mixed-use facility with a public library called Genesis Centre.
Attainable Homes has inven- tory from other builder partners in all quadrants of the city. In the northeast, the Genesis units include townhomes from Partners Development Group and apartments from Truman Homes, both in Sky-View Ranch, along with apartments built by Vericon in inner-city Renfrew.
On the southwest end, there are condos from Truman in Glenbrook, condos from Highfield Residential in Sunalta, and townhomes from Avi Urban in Silverado.
The inventory also includes condos built by Highfield in the northwest neighbourhood of Varsity, and townhomes by Hopewell Residential in the southeast community of Copperfield.
The home ownership program offered through Attainable Homes continues to be an important resource for people looking to step into home ownership, Harrop says.
“The mortgage rule (changes) and increase in interest rates, I think, have made it more difficult for a lot of Calgarians,” he adds.
Since a lending rule change in October 2016, all buyers seeking high-ratio insured mortgages have needed to qualify for both their contract rate and the conventional five-year fixed posted rate through the Bank of Canada.
The Bank of Canada figure, generally higher than most contract rates, is the most common number advertised by the six largest banks in Canada.
“Arguably, there will be even more people who see value in what our program provides,” Harrop says.
The mortgage rule (changes) and increase in interest rates, I think, have made it more difficult for a lot of Calgarians.