Display homes are often the most significant investment a builder will make – but do they work? And if you build one, what are the secrets to making it a success?
We spoke with two industry experts: Tony Gall, GM of Retail at Creation Homes, who has overseen the investment in dozens of display homes in his long career, and Greg Byrne, the general manager of the Master Builders Queensland Display Villages.
What sort of investment is it to open a display home?
Tony Gall, General Manager Retail, Creation Homes
It’s a lot of money. Each month, you have furniture hire, electricity bills, marketing, display village marketing, and real estate listings. And you are either renting the place back, or you’ll have interest that you’re paying to the banks. So, it’s a substantial amount per month, and it’s a substantial amount for each builder to invest in a display home.
Your build and your land could be anywhere from $800,000 to $1.3 million depending on the quality of the home that you’re putting there and the price of the land in the display villages. I’ve seen some homes worth two or three million on a $500,000 block. It could be anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 per month.
That’s a lot of money. What’s the secret to having a good display home?
Greg Byrne, Display Homes Manager, Master Builders Queensland
Before a builder enters one of our display villages, we engage in some thought-provoking questions that go further than a nice façade and furnishings.
We ask them:
- To give us a clear picture of their business strategy and how it aligns with their being a part of this display village
- To ensure their offering is attractive. What is the buyer profile? Do they have the right offering for this market? Are they at a competitive price point?
- What type of home(s) they wish to display, whether that be high-set or low-set, and the reasons for building this style of home at its price point.
- If they have the right product suite for this market, whether their homes suit the lot mix in this estate, and what type of business are they looking to attract.
- If they have a strong salesperson on their team – someone who is engaging, knowledgeable, and experienced when it comes to working with potential buyers.
- If they are proactive, are they a self-generator, rather than an order-taker?
- To look at their pitching game. Are their marketing and special offers enough to make them stand out from the pack?
Tony Gall, General Manager Retail, Creation Homes
I think that with displays, you have to know your market. You have to understand the market within half-an-hour radius of that display village.
You have to understand the allotment breakup and the lot sizes that are most prevalent in that estate and surrounding estates. You have to have a good salesperson and/or sales associate there.
You need to have people who have visited your display home to go back to their place and sit on the couch and go, gee, that was a good day! Remember that guy at Creation Homes? He did this, this and that for us. Or remember that Creation Home with the beautiful outdoor setting and the beautiful outdoor room, whatever it is you need someone to remember you.
Before a builder enters one of our display villages, we engage in some thought-provoking questions that go further than a nice façade and furnishings.
What about the mistakes builders make that can turn a display home into a dud?
Tony Gall, General Manager Retail, Creation Homes
For me, the meet and greet is extremely important. How does that meet and greet feel? I’ve seen meet and greets where they literally put a desk in there, and that’s it. Or they have poor quality salespeople, the wrong salespeople, the wrong sales associates. There’s an attitude you have to have, and it’s got to be client-focused, or customer-focused. And some people I’m not sure I’d ever employ.
The most important thing is your impression. Keep it neat and tidy. Lights must be on, landscaping must be spot on, and weeds must be gone. All the little things that when someone walks through a gate they say these guys are good, they care for their house. They care for their staff. The staff are friendly. The house is well presented, like you would present your own home.
Greg Byrne, Display Homes Manager, Master Builders Queensland
A builder needs to be comfortable and ensure they’re on solid ground with their motivation to be part of one of our display villages. The home, their price point, offering, and staffing must all align. If any one of those items is out of alignment, it can make the experience a difficult one.
It’s a lot of time, money and effort – why advantages can a display home give a builder that makes it worth it?
Greg Byrne, Display Homes Manager, Master Builders Queensland
All builders have their own business model as to what works for them. This is something we look at, but the detail is ultimately up to them. We ultimately saw post-COVID that many builders left the retail/display space due to the uncertainty of costs and lack of land supply. As we enter 2025, many builders are comfortable with returning to display village opportunities as long as there is an ongoing supply of land. They are looking for land that is under construction within reasonable titling frameworks and equity in the distribution of land, things we work hard to provide with our development partners.
Tony Gall, General Manager Retail, Creation Homes
I know that a number of builders in the past have thought about potentially just selling online. Yet, I think that, as a society, we like to touch and feel things. Part of society is happy to buy a pair of shoes online. You can return them. But you can’t return a house, right?
So one of the things that a house does for me is I can show people what we build. I can show people the quality of what we build. I can show people room sizes. I can show people how furniture fits. I can show people how much room they’ll have on their block with setbacks and all sorts of things. We can show colors. We can show our flair and our cabinetry. It’s to show people what you can do.
Some builders, they’ll go down the path of just showing the basics. This is what you get for your money, and that’s absolutely fine. I’ve done that in the past, and we’ll do it again. But you also have to show people some of the funky things you can do with cabinetry, with ceiling heights, with vaulted ceilings, and skylights are becoming a big thing again. You have to show what you can do. You can’t sell a secret.
What’s the biggest disadvantage with display homes?
Tony Gall, General Manager Retail, Creation Homes
The biggest disadvantage you’ll find is that if you pick the wrong estate, if you pick the wrong sales people, if you pick the wrong house.
For example, why would you put an 18-metre wide property in an estate that basically sells 10 to 40 meter wide blocks? That’s a big mistake. A lot of builders don’t have a strategy around display. You have to have a strategy about what you display and reasons why, and that’s why you’ll find the best display will always have a strategy.
Author: The Good Builder
The Good Builder is a media platform that provides news and insights for Australia’s home building industry. From exclusive stories and curated insights to bold industry perspectives, we deliver the news and updates that keep builders, suppliers, and the entire home building industry inspired and ahead of the curve.
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