This piece was written in association with Simonds.
Building family homes since 1949, Simonds create outstanding, quality homes to suit all types of lifestyles and budgets for Queensland and Northern New South Wales families.
In 1949, a teenage Gary Simonds started his building career. Soon after that, Gary started building his first home for his mum – which started the lifelong dedication to building homes for Australian families. He worked patiently throughout the 50s and 60s to learn all aspects of the trade and in 1968, Gary opened his first display home centre in Werribee, Victoria, proudly beating the Simonds name.
When Mark Simonds joined his father in the business, they started expanding. They opened more display centres and soon, they were building 100 homes per year, all with the same quality, workmanship and design excellence that is synonymous with the Simonds name. During the ’90s, full-time employees had grown to 100 and with steady growth continuing throughout the decade, Simonds were building 1000 homes per year. With Mark’s son Rhett joining the company, the 3 generations of builders worked together and drove increased sales and further expansion into Queensland. This saw Simonds employing more than 500 people and building more than 2,000 homes per year.
In 2011, the Simonds’ family’s passion for the Geelong Cats became public knowledge, resulting in Gardiner Park officially becoming Simonds Stadium. Gary’s guiding vision continues to drive Simonds today with successful expansion into New South Wales and South Australia.
What are the builder’s values?
Simonds pride themselves for their values. They are honest and transparent with fixed price guarantees and lifetime structural warranty. They produce top-quality homes, for example, Simonds Homes QLD uses a 90mm wall stud on its timber frames. The majority of new homes are constructed with a less expensive 70mm product. This wider frame is used because Simonds believes it provides a better quality home. Although it’s hidden from view, it definitely reassures the customers. Simonds also provides a customer-friendly journey to their colour studio before the contracts are produced.
What are their key selling points and what products are on offer?
Established in 1949 and celebrating 70 years of building homes for Australian families, Simonds offers a number of home designs with lifetime structural and fixed price guarantee. They are also a government accredited business.
The products on offer are:
– Slab on the ground, detached dwellings: single & double-storey, and ranch homes
– Knockdown rebuild projects
– House and Land packages
– Great relationships with land developers!
The top piece of advice they would give to a first home buyer is…
Always, always, always ask for fixed pricing before signing any paperwork or paying a deposit.
What are some of the hurdles you encounter most frequently throughout the building process? How can clients prepare for these?
Finance is currently the biggest challenge facing customers. Simonds suggests getting a trusted opinion prior to going shopping for land/ homes.
Can you give your top recommendations of what to look for in a builder?
When shopping for a builder, Simonds recommends these top 3 tips –
1. Longevity in business – asking your builder a bit about their history and the number of projects they have worked on demonstrates financial security for customers
2. Look for value not just at the base price!
3. After completing all your checks, trust your instinct too. If an offer seems too good to be true – that’s because it generally is!
For more information on Simonds’ house designs and where you can visit a display village, book a call with our team or get in touch on 1800 184 284.
Let us do the legwork for you.
- We’ll ask the right questions to better understand your needs
- We’ll create a recommended shortlist ideally matched to you
- We’ll answer specific questions or concerns related to home building, land purchasing or financing
1800 184 284
