Central Alberta home-buyers have another tool to help with their search for residential properties.
Jeremy Martins and Jason Plunkett recently launched FindMyNewHouse.ca, a website dedicated to new homes in the region.
“It’s a website and search engine exclusively for new home builders to advertise their quick-possession homes on,” said Martins, explaining that dozens of newly built houses and condominiums are sitting vacant in Red Deer and surrounding communities.
“There’s probably anywhere in the neighbourhood of 120 to 150 quick-possession homes in Central Alberta for sale right now.”
Residential builders have traditionally relied on such avenues as their own websites, signage and third-party advertising to publicize properties — but these options can be expensive or ineffective, said Martins. Offering them another way to promote their homes can only help, he added.
Builders that list their homes on FindMyNewHouse.ca pay a flat fee per listing. In addition to detailed specifications and at least 15 professional photos for each listing, the website offers a mortgage calculator and access to the Walk Score index, which identifies nearby amenities like restaurants, stores, schools and parks.
Users can search by city or town, as well as by builder and price range. Links to builders’ websites are also provided.
Martins said real estate websites are common, but the others focus on resale properties.
“That’s what is going to set us aside from a lot of other websites out there.”
In addition to homes that are ready for occupancy, FindMyNewHouse.ca will list those that are under construction — and even lots that are available for development.
“It does give the end users the ability to potentially change features inside the home,” said Martins.
He and Plunkett, who both have backgrounds in sales and marketing, launched the site on March 1.
“We’ve got quite a few builders on board,” said Martin.
FindMyNewHouse.ca currently contains Central Alberta listings, but the partners are already looking at new markets.
“We’re going to try to hit the major centres: Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray and Grand Prairie in Alberta,” said Martins, adding that British Columbia and Saskatchewan would be next.
“We’re kind of looking at claiming Western Canada, and we’ve got some pretty good connections in the United States as well.”
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com