As they say in show business when the going gets tough, the show must go on. 

In the case of the annual Lakes Region Parade of Homes, the show will indeed go on over the coming Columbus Day holiday weekend, as the doors of 11 recently built or remodeled homes are flung open for paying customers to view, even though in recent years it’s gotten increasingly difficult for builders to find the necessary labor and available land to develop homes in the Lakes Region. 

Members say they’re more than proud to show off their recent work at an event that seems to grow in popularity each year, with people paying $20 each to view the latest in high-end home designs, furnishings, landscaping, woodwork, floor layouts, porches, patios and other spectacular aspects of recently built or modeled homes. 

“It’s crazy,” Brenda Richards, executive officer of the Lakes Region Builders & Remodelers Association, said of the annual parade. “Every year we have [the parade], it gets bigger and bigger. It’s a huge event.” 

Organizers are hoping that this year’s attendance will top last year’s total of 1,100 ticket-holders, assuming the weather cooperates.  

The 2019 tour will feature 11 homes in eight communities – Alexandria, Bridgewater, Sanbornton, Gilford, Laconia, Meredith, Moultonborough and Tuftonboro – for viewers to walk through and gape at their own leisure. More information on the event, to be held Oct. 12-14, can be found at lakesregionparadeofhomes.com. 

Amenities Include ‘Smart Home’ Tech 

Some of the home trends viewers will see during this year’s parade: Generally smaller homes than in years past; new “smart home” technologies; eco-friendly heating and air-conditioning units; outdoor living-space amenities like fire pits and patio kitchen/barbecue setups; larger windows and doorways and more open-space interior designs – all in addition to tried-and-true features such as hardwood floors, exquisite woodwork and spectacular lake and mountain vistas. 

People love taking the self-tours just to learn what’s trendy or not trendy, to get ideas for their own home projects, and just to appreciate fine workmanship, Richards said. 

“It’s about learning,” she added. 

But what patrons won’t see is how it’s becoming increasingly difficult to build in the Lakes Region, as well as in other areas of New Hampshire, for that matter.  

Parade of Homes Highlights

Despite the challenges, work is indeed getting done and here’s a look at some of the properties that will be featured in this year’s Lakes Region Parade of Homes: 

• 47 Windleblo Road, Tuftonboro – Bucking the trend of slightly smaller new homes, this new-build project, completed earlier this year, comes in at a hefty 10,000 square feet. The style of the 3-story, four-bedroom home on Lake Winnipesaukee is “refined rustic Adirondack,” according to builder Key-Day. The home features an indoor brick oven, two bars, a movie theater, a 3-story elevator and an outdoor swimming pool and hot tub. 
• 61 Commander’s Helm, Laconia – The only house on this year’s tour that was for sale when The Registry Review went to press, this 2-story, four-bedroom, 3,065-square-foot home sits on a mountain overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee, and includes a private suite (with bed and bath) over a new garage. The views are “spectacular” according to builder Meredith Bay. The “Adirondack–inspired” home, located in the gated Meredith Bay community, is listed at $1.19 million.  
• 11 Farm Lane, Sanbornton – Another mountain home, this 4,600-square-foot property overlooks Winnisquam Lake and is a custom-built, “modern Cape-style” house sitting on 10.9 acres that was previously part of a farm, said Jake Mason of builder AG Structures LLC. There’s space above the garage and a “livable basement” with a bedroom and bathroom. 
• 192 Rocky Shore Road, Bridgewater – Located on Newfound Lake, this is a completely remodeled home owned by the same family for more than 80 years. The work by K.A. Clason Fine Woodworking includes a new carriage house complete with a garage and living space. In the main home, the kitchen was expanded, a new lakeside porch was added and just about “every board in the house” was pulled out for a reconfiguration of the floor plan, said Kurt Clason of K.A. Clason. 

It’s not because of demand. The economy is booming and largely out-of-state professionals from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York have the money to spend on second homes, builders say. 

“My phone is ringing off the hook,” Shamus Keating of Key–Day Building Enterprise says of the demand for contract work. “There is no end in sight to the work.”  

One of the homes Key-Day recently built is indeed on this year’s parade itinerary. 

Land, Labor Shortages 

But even the wealthy may have to wait for work to proceed because of a growing labor shortage of trades workers in plumbing, electricity, dry-walling and other construction fields. The market is so tight for labor that customers may have to wait one, two or more years before a major construction project can get underway, builders say. 

And once work gets started, delays are inevitable, as contractors scramble for subcontractors to get work done.  

“Jobs that used to take, say, six months now take nine months,” said Chris Duprey, a project executive at Meredith Bay, a builder with another home that will be featured in this year’s parade. 

Then there’s the issue of finding land on which to build.  

There are precious few “virgin” pieces of land left to build upon on lake fronts, and so teardowns are now the norm for new-home projects. But it’s getting difficult to find even potential teardown properties on lakes, builders told The Registry Review. 

The problem isn’t as acute for “off-water” properties.  

Some of the homes that are featured in this year’s parade are nestled on scenic mountains sometimes, if not usually, with spectacular views of various lakes. Still, even good off-lake parcels are getting a little harder to find, builders say.