TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 28, 2010) - In an unprecedented move Tribute Communities was the recipient of two major awards this week. For the second time in five years Tribute topped the annual J.D. Power new home buyer satisfaction survey.

Equally impressive, Tribute has won the Ontario Board of Trade's Business Achievement Award in the large business category. Tribute shares the award with De Beers, the global diamond giant.

The Business Achievement Award is given to companies that embrace the best business practices and management processes in the province. This is the first time the award has been made to a home and condominium developer.

"Both awards are great honours," says Al Libfeld, Tribute president and chief executive officer. "The JD Power award recognizes the dedication we have to serving our buyers before, during and after sales.

"The Board of Trade award recognizes the lengths we go to as a company to ensure we lead the housing industry – indeed all Ontario industries – in bringing the best management practices to bear in all our operations. This is the first time ever that a home builder has won this award and that makes it very special."

Special and indeed impressive considering Tribute was competing with some of the world's largest multi-national and national companies.

Tribute had previously won an Award of Excellence from the Ajax Pickering Board of Trade last October. That award qualified the company for consideration in the provincial judging finals. Each year the Ontario Board of Trade makes two awards in the big business and two in the small business category.

"To be ranked as an equal to a global company like De Beers is a great honour," says Mr. Libfeld. "It is also something that gives great pride to our entire team and to the families that have chosen to buy homes from us. Without the strength and enthusiasm of the Tribute team we would not have been able to achieve the level of success we have in recent years."

This year Tribute Communities will build about 1,000 homes in the Greater Toronto Area. Its most recent commercial and critical successes include both low rise communities and high and mid-rise condos such as Queen & Portland, 1717 Avenue Road and RCMI on University Avenue.

The JD Power annual study measures the satisfaction of home buyers throughout the entire new home purchase and early ownership experience. Owners are asked to evaluate their builder in the following areas: sales staff, design centre, home readiness, customer service, price/value, physical design, home quality and location.

Tribute is enormously proud of once again topping the JD Power ratings," says Mr. Libfeld. "We were ranked number one the first year the ratings were introduced and have always been among the top three since then.

"Once again buyers have rated us the best in the GTA."