With the cost of living at an all time high, we understand the need to lean towards the most cost effective option when building your home. It’s easy to think volume builders are the “cheaper option”, but don’t be fooled by quick wins that often lead into long-term costs. 

Energy efficiency. Flexibility of Space. Future Maintenance Costs. Have you thought about these things? They should be considerations right from the start of the build process. You don’t want to be settled in your brand new home, and have electricity bills through the roof because your builder never spoke to you about implementing natural light features. 

Volume and custom builders are the two main types of builders within the construction industry. A lot of people think that volume builders are cheaper and custom builders are more expensive. But that’s not true! Let’s dive into the differences between volume and custom builders and how custom builders can actually help you save money!

The Design

Design is probably the most exciting stage of the build process. It’s when you start to see your home come to life and visualise what it’s going to be like to live there. Imagine if your home could be breathtaking and beautiful and be economically friendly too! 

• Material Selections: Custom builders can assist you in choosing cost-effective yet high quality materials, based on your budget. We also have very strong relationships with suppliers so we can negotiate better deals a lot of the time as well to help save you money. 
• Sustainability Features: Eco-friendly design features can really help reduce ongoing maintenance and utility costs in the long-term. Natural light is a great money saver! Working with a custom builder, means you can strategically position expansive windows to capture the natural light. Other features to think about include: solar systems, efficient heating and cooling systems and Northern facing orientation. 
• No Hidden Design Costs: Most custom builders have an in-house design team so the designs are influenced by building knowledge and accurate material costs. Other builders regularly use an external designer which can lead to price increases throughout the project. 

With volume builders, there is often a limited range of pre-designed homes to choose from. There’s not alot of scope to change or add design features. So while your design might look good on paper, when built, the costs are going to start creeping up. Design flexibility is the hallmark of custom builders. You have the freedom to influence every aspect of your home design, from the layout and materials used.  

The Time Frame 

Although volume builders have standardised processes and repeat the same house designs again and again, custom builders ARE NOT slow! Custom builders are highly specialised professionals within the construction industry and know a thing or two about building a home on-time and to a high standard. 

• Streamlined Processes: Custom builders often pay more  attention to the details and take a higher level of pride in their work. That means, our systems and processes are more streamlined and time efficient. We can schedule out a project and tell you exactly when your handover date will be. This is a huge time saver and also money saver. 
• Avoid Overlapping Expenses: Knowing exactly when your project will be completed, means you can make plans to vacate your current residence. This is a great advantage to conserve money in the lead up to the move. So no overlapping power bills because of poor communication. 
• Reduce Mistake Costs: Custom builders have a very high level of project management, so less mistakes are made. Mistakes can cost money to fix, if not immediately, in the long-term. Builders can rush through projects and not complete the project to its highest standard eg. cracks in plaster.

While volume builders can often deliver projects on-time, due to the fast-paced nature of their work, there can also be quality control issues which lead to either increased time-frames or increased maintenance costs. It’s important to understand the level of proficiency custom builders put into each home to dualistically deliver quality projects on time and to a high standard.

So, had you previously thought about the ways that custom builders can save you money? Yes, fantastic! No, well you know now! The main thing to realise is that custom builders are 110% committed to making your home a “lifestyle home”. It’s about more than building a house, it’s building a home. Where you can live, thrive and do the things you want to do because you’re not worrying about unnecessary costs.