With a commitment to building not just high-quality homes but desirable and welcoming communities, Reid’s Heritage Homes has been a trusted homebuilder in southwestern Ontario for more than 48 years.

And now that recent policy changes and improving conditions have buyers feeling more buoyant about the new home market, Reid’s feels it is well positioned to take advantage, with new home offerings in Guelph, Cambridge and the surrounding area.

We spoke with President Ron McMillan for insights into Reid’s rich history, how it managed recent challenging times and why the company sees a bright future.

How was 2025 for Reid’s Heritage Homes?

On the plus side, 2025 was a good year for us, with more than 300 new home closings and another 100 homes completed under our Construction Management Services division.

We were especially proud of our reduced build times in 2025, realized through enhanced framing techniques by implementing panelization, which cut our build times on most sites by 20 per cent.

We were also very proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work in 2025, with 98 per cent of our team participating in the Great Place to Work survey and an overall score of 94, our highest score ever.

On the other hand, 2025 was a challenging year for new home sales, which resulted in some office and site layoffs during the last half of 2025 as work began to slow down.

And how are things shaping up for 2026?

We are very fortunate to be relatively busy during these challenging times, with three new home sites and more than 275 new homes under construction, with closings slated for the end of this year and into the spring of 2027.

Our team is smaller but reinvigorated, as we continue to improve efficiencies in both pre-construction and on-site operations as we prepare for the days ahead when sales and production volumes will ultimately surge again.

We also have four new home sites to launch for sale over the next six months, totalling more than 400 new homes with an average price point of $550,000. We are very excited about the potential for these sites as we actively work on our marketing and sales campaigns for launches in the summer and fall of this year.

How enthused are you about recent government policy changes?

Yes, this news is very encouraging and something that Reid’s Heritage Homes and the building industry have been advocating for many months.

We were recently fortunate enough to have the Ontario Minister of Housing, Rob Flack, visit our new home sites in Fergus and Guelph, where we openly discussed with him the current challenges that Ontario homebuilders face. We were more than impressed with Minister Flack’s understanding and grasp of the severity of the issues, and therefore we were not surprised at how quickly both he and the provincial government implemented a comprehensive plan to help make homes attainable again in Ontario.

We are also looking forward to a more simplified and streamlined development and building permit approvals process, as the current process is outdated and lengthy causing delay costs to be added to the purchase price of a new home unnecessarily.

How much difference might these changes make to your business?

Our average, sale price of an urban townhome in Guelph is approximately $580,000. If you remove all HST and reduce development charges by 50 per cent, we can reduce that price down to $515,000. That $65,000 reduction in price can make all the difference in a new-home buyer being able to afford the mortgage and down payment for a new townhome in Guelph. It also allows new-home builders to compete with resale homes where there is no HST or development charge tax.

How do your communities differ from others in the market?

Reid’s Heritage Homes has deep roots in the Guelph community, with a 48-year legacy behind our name. Our team understands that with this long history comes a responsibility to honour our founder’s legacy. Our ownership has always believed that every new-home buyer, whether a first-time buyer or empty nester, should receive the same high quality home and customer service.

Our current model homes in Guelph, Fergus and Cambridge reflect this legacy, with two-bedroom urban townhomes at attainable prices for all buyers and “custom home” quality inside and out.

What’s next for Reid’s Heritage Homes?

We look forward to continuing to expand our land base and new home developments across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, while creating livable and attainable communities for every homebuyer.

Honouring our legacy of quality and innovation is always top of mind in everything we do, and we’re excited about the improvements we’re making every day to build new homes faster as we continue to lead the way in starts and completions in the communities we serve.

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