MyBudget’s Tammy Barton launches building arm

She’s helped countless people sort out their finances, and now Tammy Barton is helping them climb the property ladder.

MyBudget founder Tammy Barton has made a move into construction, teaming up with former Scott Salisbury boss Gary Dann to launch custom home builder MyHomeBuild.

The pair has set a lofty ambition to build more than 100 houses over the next 12-to-18 months, but maintain it will be quality rather than quantity that drives the business forward.

On the back of a soaring housing market, fuelled by the HomeBuilder stimulus scheme and Covid-19 border closures, it’s a good time for a new player to enter the local market, Ms Barton said.

“The South Australian housing market is extremely buoyant at the moment, which presents a great opportunity for market entry,” she said.

“Many existing builders are busy trying to start or complete the housing projects they have been contracted thanks to the HomeBuilder grant.

“We’re fortunate to have entered into the market with a clean base and we haven’t had to weather the HomeBuilder storm.

“We’re targeting the second to third homebuyers, and we will work with small developers too.”

MyBudget founder Tammy Barton has partnered with former Scott Salisbury chief executive Gary Dann to establish a new custom home building company. Picture: Sarah Reed

Ms Barton said MyHomeBuild’s key point of difference would be its ability to offer clients an “end-to-end” service, from design right through to being able to secure finance for clients via the MyBudget Loans broking service.

“MyBudget has a wholesale funding line in place and have created our own construction loan product via our existing MyBudget Loans offering,” she said.

Mr Dann has more than 30 years of experience in the building industry, spending more than 20 years with Weeks Building Group before taking the helm at Scott Salisbury Group in 2017.

He will manage the day-to-day operations of the new business and its team of eight staff.

Mr Dann said all the indicators suggested the surge in housing activity was set to continue for some time yet.

“House prices are still affordable in Adelaide comparative to the eastern seaboard, which means we are attracting more interstate and overseas buyers,” he said.

“Low interest rates make owning a home more affordable and rental returns are also stronger, so investors are in the market.

“While the current market conditions are great on one hand, on the other it has added further strain on the supply of building materials.

“Despite this, we feel like this is an optimal time to enter the market as we predict that we are now at the peak of this materials demand and don’t expect it to last. We believe we will see a noticeable improvement in the supply of timber in 2022.”