2016 Parade of Homes: Behind the Scenes

Congratulations to the Fredericksburg Area Builders’ Association Parade of Homes Winners for 2016! This year, I was lucky enough to be one of the judges for the Single Family Home $275,000–$325,000 division. Realtors from all different brokerages from around the Fredericksburg area volunteered to be judges and spend the day driving around to newly-built homes to decide which home offered the best value for the money, based on their aesthetic and structural aspects.

The Griffin at Ladysmith Village

Each group of Realtors toured 4-5 homes, using an exhaustive rubric to judge every room and aspect of the home. Among the categories for adjudication were the floor plan, the utility/support spaces and outdoor living spaces as well as each individual room in the home and exterior curb appeal. Each category had its own subset of criteria for which the home could win points. Just to give you an idea of how thorough these criteria were, the exterior of each home was judged on not only the general curb appeal, but also the overall architectural design, aesthetic use of material, craftsmanship, landscaping and character/style.

The Reese at Lake Land ‘Or

For each home, the team of Realtors from all different brokerages had to reach a consensus on an overall score. Thankfully, my group was almost always in agreement for each of the homes. There were aspects of each home that pleasantly surprised us, as well as drawbacks to every home! We were really impressed with the quality and craftsmanship we saw in all of the homes we judged and it was actually really difficult to choose a winner!

The Griffin at Ladysmith Village

At the end of the day, we chose the Griffin at Ladysmith Village built by Spear Builders, which was priced at $320k. This home really blew us away. From the unique Craftsman-style exterior to the custom lighting, every detail of the home was beautiful. The home was painted in coordinating on-trend colors, and the kitchen featured a nice built-in desk area beneath a wine rack. The fireplace mantel was made of 100-year-old salvaged wood, giving it a truly unique look. The upstairs floor plan was my only drawback for this home, as I found it slightly cramped. This home really set the bar for style and character for our group as well as value for the money.

The Griffin at Ladysmith Village

If you’d like to see all the homes and judge for yourself, you can visit the Parade of Homes website or see them in person this weekend, Oct 8-9!

The Halifax at Maury Heights

Here’s the list of all the winners of each division:

▪Townhome $220,000–$290,000: Ryan Homes “The Mendelssohn at Governors Row”

▪Tiny Homes: Tiny House Building Model “The Alpine”

▪Single Family $275,000–$325,000: Spear Builders of Virginia, Inc “The Griffin at Ladysmith Village”

▪Single Family $340,000–$375,000: Thompson Building Corporation “The Halifax at Maury Heights”

▪Single Family $390,000–$430,000: Ryan Homes “The Corsica at Chancellorsville Crossing”

▪Single Family $480,000–$540,000: Lennar “The McClellan at Embrey Mill”

▪Single Family $575,000–$610,000: Bryton Homes “The Greenbrier at Bell Valley”

▪Single Family $625,000–$700,000: J. Hall Homes, Inc. “The Edinburgh at River Glen”

▪Single Family $1,000,000 and Up: Mendleson Development Company, LLC “The Winnifred at Fawn Lake”

▪Realtors Choice Award Townhome Best Overall Home for the Value: Lennar “The Westover in Rappahanock Landing”

▪Realtors Choice Award Single Family Best Overall Home for the Value: J. Hall Homes Inc. “River Glen”