Everybody likes recognition when they do something well. Homebuilders and remodelers are no different. So when a builder receives an award, chances are he’ll display it prominently—maybe on his website.

But if you’re building or remodeling a home in Connecticut, does it really matter if your builder is an “award-winning” builder? How does your builder’s award benefit you? Or is it all just window dressing?

The answer depends on what the award is for and on who is awarding it. Winning the “Best Community Supporter of the Year” from the local chamber of commerce may tell you that a builder is civic-minded (a great quality!), but it doesn’t tell you anything about the quality of the homes he builds.

When you evaluate a builder you want to see if that builder has been recognized by others who know the homebuilding industry intimately, and who reward those who demonstrate excellence in craftsmanship and quality.

Like any other good builder, we’re proud of the awards we’ve won that show our commitment to building quality homes that people enjoy living in for a long time. This year, for instance, Sunwood Development was awarded the Builder of the Year award by the Builders Association of Greater New Haven. Past awards include the Home Builders Association of Connecticut’s Charles J. LoDolce Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership and service, and has only been granted six times in the association’s 47-year history. The Home Builders Industry awarded Sunwood the Best Traditional Community award for our development of The Willows. And they also presented us with the award for Best Residential Remodel, $750,000-$1,000,000 for a remodeling job we completed in Wallingford.

We like to think that those awards will give future homeowners a sense of confidence that when they trust us to build their dream home, we’ll deliver the quality they expect. But the work and commitment that goes into winning those awards actually allows us to award homeowners with something extra. Because we’re confident that you’ll be thrilled with your new Sunwood home, we offer an industry-leading two-year warranty on our new homes. That is an award that really means something to you!

If you’d like to get a sense of what it’s like to work with an award-winning builder (and pick up some great tips on how to build a great custom home), we invite you to download our free Custom Home Guide here. It’s packed with helpful, useful information.