GOHBA Recognizes Special Achievement Award Winners
The Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) recognized outstanding Association and industry contributors during the presentation of Special Achievement Awards at its Annual General Meeting on Thursday, April 29, 2021. Neil Malhotra of Claridge Homes was awarded the Colonel Boss Award, an accolade named in honor of the first Executive Director of GOHBA. This award…
Read MoreLook to the Sky
Artists and photographers know how beautiful light can be, especially when it’s natural, at various times of the day and in all seasons. Light makes you feel better – the Spring season is a perfect example as research indicates the exposure to increased sunlight triggers a release of serotonin, a hormone associated with boosting mood.…
Read MoreIt’s Time to Support Home Renovations
Renovation is a critical part of the residential construction industry that often doesn’t get talked about in terms of policy. It won’t shock anyone who’s heard of lumber and other building material supply shortages that demand for renovations has gone up during the pandemic. This is partly due to all of us being…
Read MoreEmbracing Intensification is Part of Growing Up
Ottawa has a lot of growing up to do. I’ve repeated this stat often in our updates and I’ll continue to do so – Ottawa is expected to grow by an additional 400,000 people over the next 25 years. This is a 40% increase over our current population of 1 million. All of those people…
Read MoreHousing Resolutions for 2021
Each year at this time I talk about resolutions for housing in Ottawa for the coming year. For 2021 I would still like to see the public conversation focus more around the contribution homes make to our communities, to our fellow citizens, and to ourselves and our families. Last year the City committed to seeing…
Read MoreLet’s Walk the Talk on Intensification
Last year GOHBA presented information about the then-forthcoming Official Plan, the intention to accommodate more homes through intensification in existing neighbourhoods and the need for everyone to understand the profound changes Ottawa is going to see as its population grows by 400,000 people to 1.4 million by 2046. Now the draft Official Plan is out…
Read MoreOur Commitment to Energy Efficiency
On September 22 GOHBA won EnerQuality’s Home Builders’ Association of the Year award, which recognizes “outstanding leadership in high-performance home building by promoting and participating in EnerQuality programs and the high-performance homebuilding construction industry.” GOHBA is the proud voice for excellence in the home building community, and one of the things we’re most proud of…
Read MoreHow Lumber Supply Affects Housing
If you’re building a new home, thinking about one, or have bought lumber for a home renovation project recently, you’ve likely seen media reports about supply constraints and sharp price increases in wood products — specifically pressure-treated wood, plywood and framing lumber. A big part of what you’re seeing now is the lag effect from…
Read MoreRenovating for Energy Savings
In August 2019 in this space I spoke about improving your home’s energy efficiency through renovating, and how improving the energy efficiency in existing housing is extremely important to our future quality of life in Ottawa. Since that time there have been two important developments: First, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) certified the first…
Read MoreSummer Renovations
In the long, warm, sunny days from May to October, you might want to spend as much time outside your home as you can. And that can mean renovating the outdoors, in a manner of speaking. Your professional renovator can provide you with lots of ideas about the things that beautiful summers are made of.…
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