As new-home building becomes increasingly complex, more buyers are questioning not just what they are building, but who they are building with. For many households, the experience of being passed between departments, repeating decisions, or feeling like one of hundreds in a builder’s pipeline has sharpened a new priority: direct accountability.
Rather than choosing solely on inclusions or façade styles, more buyers are seeking builders who keep their project close, maintain personal oversight, and stay actively connected from the first meeting through to handover. The model appeals to those who see the building process not as a transaction, but as a relationship, the kind where the person making the commitments is the same person overseeing the outcome.
This renewed interest in smaller, director-led building models is particularly evident among first-home buyers who want clarity, upgraders who need flexibility, and families seeking tailored layouts that don’t fit neatly into volume-built design templates. For these groups, a builder’s scale can translate into more than an operational detail; it can determine the level of communication, continuity and customisation they experience across the entire build.
‘Create Your Space’ the BuildTec way
That preference for closer involvement has shaped the approach of builders such as BuildTec Homes, which operates on a deliberately small, director-led model. Rather than expanding output, the company has retained a custom-focused structure as a response to the shortcomings its team has witnessed in high-volume building environments.
As the team notes, many clients in the broader market “are pushed through the process with high-volume builders,” an experience that influenced BuildTec’s decision to offer a more personal, client-centred alternative.
BuildTec’s Director, Todd des-Baux, works one-on-one with every client and remains involved from pre-construction through to handover, a structure rarely offered at scale. With more than 25 years in the industry, beginning as an apprentice carpenter before moving into project management, des-Baux has overseen hundreds of projects and embedded those lessons into the builder’s current model. This is reflected in their capped annual output: BuildTec builds around 10 homes per year, ensuring each project receives direct oversight and consistent communication.
Not just another number
For buyers, this hands-on approach translates into clearer pathways through design, approvals and construction. The builder’s structured process, from site inspections and contour surveys through to tender, colour selections and authority approvals, is handled by a small team supported directly by the Director. The intent is to keep the process transparent and anchored to the specific needs of a client’s land, design preferences and compliance requirements.
Customisation also sits at the centre of the offering. Clients can choose from existing designs, adjust layouts, or bring their own plans, working with the team to tailor finishes and functional elements to suit their lifestyle. It reflects a buyer cohort that increasingly sees design as more than aesthetic choice; it is a way to shape the home around daily patterns of family life, not simply select from a preset list.
For BuildTec, this idea aligns with their long-held philosophy behind ‘Create Your Space’, not only as a slogan, but as an acknowledgement that each home should be shaped around the way a family wants to live, rather than a preset template.
Beaumont, Classic facade
Finding your process
For buyers navigating a crowded building market, the takeaway is less about choosing a particular builder and more about understanding the model that best aligns with how they want to build.
Director-led structures won’t suit every household, but they can offer meaningful advantages for those who value transparency, continuity and the ability to help shape their home beyond standard selections.
The BuildTec approach highlights several questions you can bring into your own decision-making, regardless of which builder you choose:
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Who will be my main point of contact, and how consistent will that be from start to finish?
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How many projects does the builder manage at one time?
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What level of customisation is genuinely supported in the base process?
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Will I have access to the people making the key decisions on-site?
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How clearly is the process structured, and what happens at each stage?
Buyers increasingly want to feel anchored to their build, to understand what’s happening, why it’s happening, and who is accountable along the way. Director-led models such as BuildTec’s demonstrate one pathway to achieving that connection, offering insight into what closer oversight can look like in practice.
Publisher Website: www.homeshelf.com.au