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Dear Friends,
2007 has been an exciting year to be living and working in the Calgary area. We have had a superb year at Shane Homes and I am proud of how our employees have met the challenges associated with the extraordinary growth.
While the housing activity slowed over the summer, that is not unusual for this time of year. The slower activity was also due to a couple of other circumstances; there was a shortage of building lots and a lot of press on the sub-prime mortgage situation in the USA. While Canada tends to treat the US like a crystal ball for the future of Canada, we are happy this is not the case this time. It is very fortunate that Canada operates much differently from the USA when it comes to mortgage lending practices. For the most part, the only thing we have in common in this case is how the word is spelled. While sub-prime mortgages do exist in Canada, it is important to know that it only represents 5% of our market, compared to 22% in the USA. Also, the US market is very competitive, which has resulted in lower credit standards so companies can increase their market share. We are fortunate that Canadians are more conservative, and to meet industry requirements mortgage brokers adhere to extremely high ethical standards.
We had a lot of fun at Shane Homes over the past several months. In particular, on September 13 we hosted the 10 finalists in our $75,000 Cash Giveaway Contest. All of the finalists were winners with 9 sharing $25,000 and one $50,000 grand prize winner. Congratulations to all of you!
I am very passionate about this industry, particularly the people that work in it and the customers we serve. From the equity you gain and the comforts you enjoy, the pride you feel from building a new home is still the most exciting and important purchase you will ever make. Thank you for your time, and we look forward to helping you build your dreams.
Sincerely,
Cal Wenzel, President
Shane Homes Ltd. and
Creations by Shane Homes |
