Adaptation to the ups and downs of the housing market has been core to Thomasfield Homes’ Mayberry Hill development in Grand Valley, Ont., a community described as a generational asset for the Guelph-based homebuilder and developer.

A family business founded in 1978 by president Tom Krizsan, Thomasfield has built over 7,500 homes in Guelph and its surrounding environs. Its builds are primarily low-rise housing ranging from single- and semi-detached homes to townhomes, with some condo projects in the mix.

The company started as a homebuilder before adding development to its operations in the 1980s, Matthew Krizsan, co-owner and marketing director of Thomasfield Homes, told RENX Homes in an interview. Its past projects include Hopewell Heights in Breslau, Tiffany Ridge in Woodstock and the eight-storey condo South Hill in Guelph.

“Our business model is to keep things slow and steady, and we’re not interested in trying to build more than we’re comfortable with,” Krizsan said.

Mayberry Hill is a multi-phased community of single-family homes and townhomes that has been in development since 2012. With plans for over 1,000 homes when fully realized, it will be one of Thomasfield’s largest communities.

Now developing the third phase of Mayberry Hill in a slow housing market, Thomasfield has adjusted its offerings and price points toward affordability to reflect the needs of today's buyers.

A quaint, small-town community

Mayberry Hill was named by Tom Krizsan to evoke the “quaint, small-town feel” of the setting in The Andy Griffith Show, according to his son Matthew Krizsan. It is intended to be a close-knit community for families, with landscaped roundabouts and a community association created to instill a neighbourly atmosphere.

Approximately 80 to 90 per cent of buyers for units at Mayberry Hill have been people from Toronto-area cities and towns such as Brampton, Orangeville, Caledon, Mississauga and Georgetown, Krizsan said. Many are searching for a larger single-family dwelling at a more affordable price compared to their their current homes - often townhomes - he added.

Prices at Mayberry Hill start from under $700,000 for an approximately 1,500-square-foot home, to $916,000 for a home of almost 2,400 square feet. Every home starts under $1 million at Mayberry Hill, Krizsan said.

There has been a “good split” of buyers, he said, between retirees and those young families looking for more space. For older clients, the bungalows and bungalofts are especially appealing, Krizsan said.

Thomasfield aims to sell 60 homes per year in Mayberry Hill. While sales did not meet that target during the past two years, Krizsan noted the project was a slow starter at first. But once people became familiar with the development, sales picked up. For example, 2017 was a boom year with lines forming outside the model homes before weekend sales launches.

“It was actually a little bit unnerving because I thought, ‘This party is not going to end well,’ ” Krizsan said - half jokingly - of the almost overwhelming demand.

Phases of Mayberry Hill

Across Phase 1 and 2 of Mayberry Hill, approximately 450 homes were built. The project is on its third phase, split between two parts – A and B. Phase 3 is divided in such fashion because of how the development application had been processed, Krizsan explained, following a similar procedure from Phase 2.

Phase 3A is made up of 98 single-detached homes and 17 townhomes. Phase 3B is planned as 159 single-detached homes.

Phase 3B includes three-bedroom, 1,500-square-foot starter homes under $700,000, and bungalows and bungalofts up to 2,000 square feet starting from the low-$700,000s. But larger homes will still be offered, such as offerings between 1,800 to 2,000 square feet with starting prices ranging from $800,000 to the low $900,000s.

For Phase 3B, Thomasfield introduced smaller plans compared to 3A, such as 1,300-square-foot bungalows.

“This was in reaction to creating a more affordable product with the new market realities,” Krizsan said. The developer had made similar adjustments in the past, including incorporating townhomes in earlier phases.

Thomasfield also lowered its prices midway through Phase 3B to encourage sales, the first time it had done so since the 1990s.

“We only wanted to do that one time and not make it a slippery slope.”

Thomasfield’s future projects

Mayberry Hill will be home to between 650 and 700 families upon completion of Phase 3B, which is expected to be finished between 2028 to 2029.

In addition to Mayberry Hill, Thomasfield also holds over 600 acres of undeveloped land in the Grand Valley area. Krizsan expects the company’s next generation of leadership — his children, nieces and nephews — will be spearheading development in that town over the coming decades.

Among this is land for a project it will name River’s Edge, where it plans to remediate a former gravel pit into a residential community.

Thomasfield also has other communities in development. In Breslau, it is developing Hopewell Crossing, designed as a mixed-use community with prices starting from $749,900. In Ospringe, it is working on Ospringe Highlands, a luxury housing development.