2018 FALL PARADE OF HOMES WINNERS
PARADE OF HOMES WINNERS INCLUDE A VARIETY OF STYLES, OPTIONS
Feature Story
While home builders look forward to the semi-annual Parade of Homes – sponsored by the Home Builder Association of Central New Mexico – as a chance to showcase their work in front of many potential buyers, it is also a great way collect some hardware that could help drum up future business.
Earning a general excellence award also means that the voters appreciate the job well-done by the winning builder.
“It just means that it validates that our team is doing a great job,” said Chris Hakes of Hakes Brothers. “We try to build fantastic homes and we try to meet the buyers’ desires and give them something to be excited about. We want to give them something to be excited about. It also means that the team planned and executed well.”
It means a great deal to be recognized for that work, said Steve Chavez of Roku Development
“It’s a great feeling because I put a lot of passion and I dedicate a lot of time and thought and a lot of sacrifice,” he said. “I sacrifice time with my family and my friends to do the job right, so it feels good to be rewarded. In the end though, it’s something you have no control over.”
For some builders, the awards are not necessarily a coup, but can make a difference when speaking with clients.
“I don’t know that the awards themselves are that important,” said Wade Wingfield of Sun Valley Custom Homes. “The important thing out of the Parade is the exposure and the amount of people within the industry that become aware of what you do and the people within the community who become aware of what you do.”
Still, he added, recognition and validation always is a good thing.
“The awards are certainly nice,” Wingfield said. “It’s a great little marketing thing to show clients and prospective clients. It’s nice to be recognized. And we’re creative people and I guess the awards to some degree confirm that.”
Other general excellence award winners include Westway Homes (1621 Camino Cancun SW), M-Art Building Company, DR Horton (9 Hermanos Loop), New Haven Homes and Ranco Custom Homes & General Contracting. The homes were awarded based on the different price categories they fall into.
For the Hakes Brothers, a Las Crucesbased company that has been making a steadily growing impact in the Albuquerque metro area over the past several years, the Parade and award is a great way to further increase the company’s visibility.
“We want to get our name out there so people know that there is a builder in town that likes to build luxury homes at a great value,” Hakes said. “And the Parade gives us a great platform for that. We’re pitted up against our competition and there’s a lot of value in that. They can compare the builders to each other.”
The 2,119-square-foot Hakes-built home is located in Rio Rancho’s Enchanted Hills community, with a list price of $299,500. Although it won’t be going on the market immediately, as it will be a model home, two similar homes will be available for move in fairly soon, Hakes said.
The home includes four bedrooms and 2 ½ baths with an open floor plan. A key point in its design and construction was making sure the master suite was opposite of the remaining bedroom “which is always popular with people,” he said. “It’s got all the bells and whistles. It’s got all the nice things that people are looking for.”
Wood beams in the great room ceiling add some southwestern flair, while a sliding barn door provides entry to the master suite. Upgraded wood–style porcelain tile brings a clean, modern look.
Roku wanted to create something a little different, with their 2,338-square-foot home near Coors and Irving NW. It is listed at $475,000 with three bedrooms, 2¾ baths, and a three-car garage.
“It’s real special and we put a lot of work into it,” Chavez said. “When people buy these homes, they know that a lot of hard work, passion and thorough attention to detail went into it. It’s got a whole different look.”
It is a little hard to describe the home, as it doesn’t quite fit into a single category, he said.
It’s kind of mountain man, Lake Tahoe, California Mountain, but modern with a lot of warm finishes,” Chavez said. “We do a lot of specialty finishes. It’s like being in California when you’re in Albuquerque.”
Sun Valley also went with a sleeker look, with its 2,913-square-foot home in Petroglyph Estates. The three bedroom, 2½ bath model, with a home office, will sell for $630,000. However, it will serve as the company’s model for awhile.
“Contemporary architecture and contemporary interior design are pretty popular right now,” Wingfield said. “Our home is consistent with that. It is contemporary. But it is a different type of contemporary. Almost everybody that came through our house said this is modern but very warm, cozy and livable.”
That was the look that Sun Valley sought, he said.
“A lot of contemporary, modern and interior design trends tend to be cold and sterile,” Wingfield said. “Ours is modern and contemporary, but one that people could actually see themselves living in, with their family hanging out with their feet up.”
Combining different elements was a key to the design’s success, he said.
“It’s a very memorable house,” Wingfield said. “We took a very old traditional southwestern building element and used it in a modern house. There are 100-percent, oldworld brick floors.”
It is not necessarily a splashy house, but it certainly has a comfortable charm.
“All the little components add up to a very nice and livable home,” Wingfield said.