Metricon continues to want to be the most awarded SA builder
A LEADING, and national, home builder is to move its South Australia headquarters to the former home of a well known mining company along the Adelaide fringe.
A LEADING national home builder is to move its South Australia headquarters to the former home of a well-known mining company along the city’s fringe.
Metricon will set up at 162 Greenhill Rd, Parkside, from April next year, a site best known as the Oz Minerals HQ before its move to Adelaide Airport.
Metricon general manager SA, Richard Bryant, said the shift was in line with the expansion of an SA division that has grown from just a single employee – Mr Bryant – eight -and-a-half years ago, to 80 staff.
Another 10 or so newcomers will be added within the next 12 months in keeping with an annual growth rate in double digits.
“Proudly South Australian” said the Oz Minerals sign on Greenhill Rd, a mantra in keeping with the Metricon outlook, says Mr Bryant.
“The (east coast) family that runs Metricon wanted someone local when they wanted to move into SA, someone who understood the local market.
“I set Metricon (SA) up from my kitchen table.
“The rise has been rapid – 1257 new builds since 2010 and up to $2 million each in sale value – with a small business mentality key to customer service which drives the business,” Mr Bryant, a past president of the Master Builders Association SA says.
“Our project managers look after 15 jobs only. We only work within about 100 km from the Adelaide GPO so they can cover all aspects easily and visit a site every two days.”
Innovation is fundamental to moving ahead, Mr Bryant said, with terraced housing driving currently company targets and particularly to the second and subsequent homebuyers.
“Ten years ago, it would have been a crazy idea but terraced housing is now a big growth market in South Australia,” he said.
“Allotments are getting smaller and land is a significant cost. This type of housing makes it more affordable.”
A tranch of Metricon terraced housing at the enormous Lightsview develop-ment. in Adelaide’s inner northeast, is proving hugely successful, he said.
“Terrace home are about 280sqm, so it’s a similar size to the traditional SA home but with a cheaper land value.”
There is no common party wall at Lightsview, Mr Bryant said, so direct comparisons with the centuries old European style of housing not entirely accurate.
The model is proving popular even in less urban areas, with Mt Barker rapidly expanding its terraced options. It’s what the customer currently wants, he says.
Peer acknowledgment matters, too.
Mr Bryant was quick to point to Metricon’s 36 property awards in the past seven years, and last month’s MBA SA Display Home Builder of the Year for the fifth time.
“In the last year, the business has grown by 15 per cent and we’re excited to continue to deliver homes for every lifestyle and budget,” he said.