PHOTOS COURTESY WEAVER HOMES

For more than two decades, the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh’s Festival of Homes tour has presented local homebuyers with the opportunity to spend a few weekends exploring what new builders have to offer. 

It’s not a moment too soon. With supply chain disruptions and a constricted workforce caused by the pandemic, the sooner a housing decision is made the better. 

While local builders keep their models open year-round, they often unveil new models and other amenities during the tour. This year, the local home builder lineup includes Eddy Homes, Scarmazzi Homes, Wayne Homes, Infinity Custom Homes, Maronda Homes, RA Snoznik, Ryan Homes and Heartland Homes. Homes on tour include everything from one-level living patio homes to luxury custom homes. 

Expect the models to be well-staffed and to be wowed by new home technology, design innovations and trends.

Also included in this year’s lineup is Weaver Homes.  

While most new home builders will first tell you about all of the great amenities available in their products, Kelly Dunn, vice president of sales and marketing at Weaver Homes, points out what sets her company apart from the rest. 

“It’s our relationships,” she says. “We use only local suppliers and tradespeople. For example, our plumber has been with us for 38 years.” 

These long-standing relationships have kept the company’s labor force consistent — and have helped keep a steady supply of products that allowed them to deliver homes on schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic, she says. 

“We are very fortunate. We trust those relationships and can reap the benefits in the hard times,” she says.

Weaver models in three locations will be open for the Festival of Homes tours, which take place Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24.

The star of Weaver’s single-family homes will be the Ashton model at Hickory Glen. Located in the Mars Area School District in Butler County, the homes feature a minimum ½-acre lot with building sizes ranging from 2,000 to 3,800 square feet. Prices start at $625,000.  

“It is a traditional home,” Dunn says. “One of the things that is so nice is you don’t have to pay for a lot of add-ons.” 

Included in the home price are concrete driveway, ceramic tile, hardwood floor stairs to the second level, granite countertops in the kitchen and quartz in the bathrooms. For the first-time home builder, this makes the decision making easier, Dunn says. 

The Ashton model also features a first-floor study, tray ceilings, a finished basement and a luxury primary bedroom suite. 

With more people working and learning from home because of the pandemic, buyers are now looking for more flexible spaces, Dunn says. 

“We have actually added more floor plans that have two home offices,” she says. “You can choose two on the main floor, or one on the main and one on the second floor.” 

The community, which features roomy homes with primary bedrooms on the first level, is attracting another kind of buyer as well. 

“We have a lot of retirees right-sizing to this home,” she says. 

Lifestyle also is the focus at Heritage Crossings in Sarver, where the Canterbury and the Abbey models will be available for tours. The Canterbury model will also be open at The Villas at Spring Valley in Zelienople.  

Home prices in these low-maintenance communities start at $385,000 and $380,000, respectively. The designs are 1,718 to 1,816 square feet in size and feature two-to-three bedrooms and two bathrooms. 

Other amenities include a vaulted ceiling, lever door handles and ceiling fans. There’s also a standard sunroom that is a favorite of both Dunn and the buyers. 

“I love the sunrooms. I have seen it used in so many different ways,” she says, adding the space has been used as a coffee bar, a Peloton workout studio and a morning room.

Both communities offer a clubhouse with a swimming pool. Yard work and snow removal are handled by the community for a monthly fee. 

Hot Property is an inside look into unique and historic homes on the market. Each week, Hot Property goes behind the For Sale sign to share the story of a special Pittsburgh-area home. And four times a year, Hot Property gives an in-depth look at the region’s real estate market in Pittsburgh Magazine HOME, tracking housing prices and sales and detailing where the hot properties can be found. Rosa can be reached at onecordovaroad@gmail.com.