NEFBA awarded trophies to the winners in the 2015 Parade of Homes at the Hyatt Hotel on April 30.
More than 200 builders, their families and friends of the industry attended the event, sponsored by the Bank of England, The Florida Times-Union, Construction Specialties of North Florida and Stephens Advertising.
Twenty-six builders entered 87 homes in the competition.
“The Parade banquet is a time of celebration and pride for not only the winners, but the association and the industry itself,” said 2015 NEFBA President Rick Morales, who also was the master of ceremonies at the annual event. “It represents the best of the best and gives the citizens of our community an opportunity to see for themselves what our builder members offer — quality construction, design trends and innovations in products and materials.”
This year’s Parade was April 18-26 and 87 homes were open to the public throughout the First Coast. The Parade has been a much-anticipated spring event since the first one in 1954. NEFBA’s 70th anniversary last year marked the 60th anniversary of the Parade itself.
Homes are judged by a panel of unbiased judges who visit each home to assess its characteristics along several dimensions. Scores are tallied and the homes are grouped into price categories.
Gold and silver awards are given in each price category. Homes at this year’s Parade were valued from the mid-$150,000s to more than $1.3 million.
The winners were an-nounced at the Parade of Homes banquet. Top winners this year were Dream Finders and Mattamy Homes, with six winning homes each.
Ann Hicks with Stephens Advertising was chair of the Parade Committee, and Corey Hacker was the NEFBA staff liaison.
An online view of homes featured in the 2015 Parade is available at nefba.com/parade.