How to Buy Pre-Construction Homes in Edmonton: Complete Guide

This guide addresses the essential questions we hear daily: how to buy a pre-construction home, whether you need professional representation, financing requirements, realistic timelines, and most importantly—is buying pre-construction a good idea for your family.

How to Buy a Pre-Construction Home: Our Cantiro Process

 When you build a pre-construction (also called pre-sale) home with Cantiro, you get to create a space designed for your life, rather than compromising with an older home.

At Cantiro, our Life Collection features our thoughtfully designed homes, available for pre-construction purchases with a selection of interior styles and personalization packages.

We’ve designed our approach to let you make the key decisions that will shape your home while our experts handle the complex details. This helps to ensure that everything works together seamlessly without overwhelming you. 

Our typical build timeline ranges from 9-10 months from start to finish (although this was very depending on the complexity of your home design and personalization choices – more on this later).

Here’s how the pre-construction process works: 

The Planning Phase

Choose your Lot – work with our experienced sales team to find the perfect location, whether you prefer a corner lot, north or south facing lot, for you and your family. 
Select Your Home Model – From there, you can select a model from that best suits your lifestyle. We provide five different interior style options to provide a cohesive look and feel. Your sales lead will guide you through this process.
Explore our Interior Styles and Model Options – review and select form model-specific options and personalizations available for your chosen home. Our design team will guide you through this process.
Submit your offer – finalize your purchase agreement with guidance from your sales lead through the whole approval process. 

The Design Phase

Choose Your Interior Style – attend design consultations to select from professionally curated interior styles, with options to mix and match elements based on your personalization package. 
Review your plan – Final review of all details and any permit-required changes with your sales lead. 

The Construction Phase

Scheduled Walkthroughs – participate in guides tours of your home at three key milestones: home start, rough-ins, and cabinetry installation
Regular Construction Updates – receive progress photos and detailed descriptions every three weeks from our dedicated Client Care team
Quality Control Inspection – our quality control team conducts a thorough inspection to catch and address any outstanding issues. 
Possession notice – receive your possession date with a minimum of 30 days’ advance notice

Post Possession

Follow-Up Check-Ins – scheduled visits at 2 months and 11 months to ensure everything is running smoothly, plus access to our client care portal for any issues that arise.

Top Financial Benefits of Buying a Pre-Sale Home:

Building a home offers significant financial advantages:

More Time to Save: With pre-sale homes, you’ll have several months to save for your down payment or closing costs while your home is under construction. This added flexibility can be a game-changer for many buyers.

Price Stability: Pre-sale homes protect you from the unpredictability of the market. Once you sign your contract, your price is locked in, safeguarding you from potential price increases in Edmonton’s booming market.

First-Time Homebuyer Incentives: Take advantage of government programs that make it easier for first-time buyers to enter the market. Learn more about these programs here.

Do You Need a Mortgage for A Pre Construction Home?

Absolutely. Most families finance their pre-construction purchase, and the process works differently than buying an existing home.

Down Payment Requirements

For properties under $650K, you’ll need 5% down (as mandated by the Government of Canada) – this applies to the first $500K of the purchase price and 10% on the remaining amount. For properties over $650K, the down payment is 10%.

Understanding Progress Payments:

Unlike buying an existing home where you pay everything at closing, pre-construction typically involves something called “progress payments.” These are installments you make to the builder as your home reaches specific construction milestones – things like foundation completion, framing, drywall, etc. Think of it as paying for your home as it gets built, rather than all at once when it’s finished.

How Cantiro Makes This Easier: Completion Mortgage Financing

We offer “completion mortgage financing” – this means your mortgage doesn’t start until your home is completely finished and you move in. With this option, there are no additional progress payments during construction – it’s all taken care of! The same applies if you choose draw mortgage financing – we handle the draw interest payments until you get the keys to your new home.

Your Protection:

Cantiro provides pre-possession insurance for homebuyers. We purchase deposit protection for our clients, which covers up to $50,000 under the Alberta New Home Warranty Deposit Protection program.

The key difference: you won’t make mortgage payments until you move in, giving you the construction period to prepare financially.

Do You Need a Realtor to Buy Pre-Construction?

The quick answer to this question is no, our sales and client care team will be by your side throughout the pre-construction build process. From choosing your lot to moving in, the Cantiro team has you covered!

If you choose to use a professional Realtor® as part of your new home search, we would love to work with them. Learn more about our process of working with realtors.

How Long Does Pre-Construction Take?

After building 30+ communities, we’ve learned that honest timeline expectations help families enjoy the journey and feel confident about their investment.

Our typical build timeline is 9-10 months from start to finish, though this can vary depending on the complexity of your home design and customization choices. Larger homes with extensive personalization naturally take a bit longer than our standard floor plans.

Construction schedules can be affected by weather, supply chains, and unforeseen conditions. Every purchase agreement includes reasonable provisions for these normal delays, so we always recommend building some flexibility into your moving timeline.

This means from the time you sign your agreement to when you get your keys, most families are looking at under a year – giving you time to prepare financially while still moving into your new home relatively quickly.

Is Pre-Construction Right for Your Family?

Based on our experience with thousands of families, pre-construction works well for those who:

Value personalization and modern design
Can work with construction timelines
Want to secure today’s pricing in a growing market
Appreciate comprehensive warranty protection

Consider existing homes if you need to move within a few months or prefer to see the finished product before purchasing.

Cantiro: Edmonton’s trusted builder for modern pre-sale homes

Not all builders are created equal, and at Cantiro, we’ve spent 30 years earning our reputation as one of Alberta’s most trusted homebuilders.

Award-Winning Designs: Our homes are known for their innovative layouts and modern features.
Eco-Conscious Building: We’re committed to sustainability, using materials and practices that reduce your environmental footprint.
Unmatched Customer Care: Our team ensures your experience is seamless from start to finish. Read more about the benefits of pre-sale homes here.

When you choose Cantiro, you’re not just building a house—you’re creating a home designed to support the amazing life you envision.

Start your journey with a custom pre-sale home today

With interest rates dropping and Edmonton’s housing market continuing to thrive, there’s never been a better time to invest in a pre-construction home. Cantiro offers the personalization, financial stability, and modern benefits that today’s buyers demand.

Ready to start your journey? Contact us today to learn more about our new pre-construction homes for sale and personalized upgrade options.