For many builders, expanding beyond the capital cities appears to be a natural next step. Regional Australia continues to attract population growth, lifestyle migration and new infrastructure investment. But while the opportunity is real, the challenge is often underestimated.

Regional building markets operate very differently to metropolitan ones. Reputation spreads quickly, local relationships run deep and long-standing builders often hold the trust of the community.

When a larger builder enters from the city, the initial reaction can be cautious at best.

Phil Barrett, who spent more than two decades in senior leadership at Metricon and helped grow its regional housing operations across Victoria, says entering regional markets requires patience, humility and a strong focus on relationships.

In fact, the early days of expanding beyond Melbourne were far from easy.

“When I first started opening up regional housing, I would ring developers and agents and suppliers and say, ‘It’s Phil Barrett here with Metricon.’ And the response was often, ‘Metricon? Metra-who?’” Barrett recalls.

“I actually had to spell Metricon because there was no recognition of the brand in those regional areas.”

That lack of familiarity meant the company could not rely on its metropolitan reputation. Instead, trust had to be built from the ground up.

Showing Up Before Scaling Up

For Barrett, the first step in building trust across regional markets was simple: show up.

Rather than attempting to expand through marketing campaigns or brand awareness alone, the focus was on meeting the people who shaped the regional housing ecosystem.

“In the first year of opening up regional housing, I think I did about 80,000 kilometres in the car,” Barrett says.

“My car and I became very good friends.”

Those kilometres were spent travelling between regional centres, meeting developers, real estate agents, suppliers, trades and financial partners.

“I would ring developers and agents and suppliers and just introduce myself,” he says. “It was a slow process of building trust.”

In regional communities, those relationships are everything. Developers control land supply, agents understand buyer demand and trades form the backbone of the building process.

Without the confidence of those groups, even the most experienced builder will struggle to establish itself.

Starting Small in Regional Markets

Another key decision was how Metricon structured its operations in regional towns.

Rather than launching large offices, the company started with small teams designed to stay close to customers and projects.

“When we first opened offices in places like Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and Wodonga, we started with just three people,” Barrett explains.

“There was a manager who also sold homes on weekends, an admin person who eventually became the customer service person, and a site manager who built the first display homes.”

Those small teams created a tight feedback loop between sales, administration and construction.

“The beauty of that structure was that every new customer that came through the door, the other two people knew all about it,” Barrett says.

“So when the house started on site, everyone knew that customer’s history. It became a very caring process.”

As the business grew, maintaining that culture became a priority.

Barrett says having pre-site customer service staff sitting alongside on-site teams helped maintain continuity throughout the building process.

“They would overhear conversations with customers before the build even started and carry that knowledge into the construction phase,” he explains.

“It might have been something simple like a child being sick or someone starting a new job. But those things mattered to customers.”

Earning the Trust of Trades and Suppliers

Regional markets are also heavily influenced by trade relationships.

Subcontractors often work with builders they know and trust, sometimes across multiple decades.

Barrett says those relationships played a major role in helping the business establish itself outside Melbourne.

“I had trades working for me in Geelong that I had known for 35 years,” he says.

“They had worked with us back in my Jennings days and then later came across to work with us again.”

That continuity helped reinforce trust across the supply chain.

Trades and suppliers want consistency, fair treatment and reliable work pipelines. Builders who demonstrate those qualities can gradually build long-term partnerships.

“It was about establishing trust with all the key partners — trades, suppliers, developers, agents and banks — and then delivering what we promised to customers,” Barrett says.

Delivering on Expectations

While relationships opened doors, reputation was ultimately built through delivery.

Barrett believes one of the biggest mistakes builders make is setting unrealistic expectations during the sales process.

“You’ve got to set an expectation and then deliver that or better,” he says.

“There’s no point trying to take a sale in July and promising a customer they’ll be in their home by Christmas if you just can’t physically do it.”

In smaller communities, missed timelines or poor communication can damage reputation quickly.

Being honest about capacity and timelines, Barrett says, is essential for long-term credibility.

“You are better to be honest with people so they’re comfortable with the expectation,” he explains.

Respecting Local Builders

Regional expansion can also create tension with established local builders.

Many family-owned building companies have served their communities for decades and have deep local ties.

Barrett says earning respect in those markets requires recognising that history.

“When we went to regional areas in the early days, there were still a lot of traditional home styles being built,” he says.

“We brought some newer design ideas to the market, but we always respected the builders already there.”

Over time, those differences often influenced buyer preferences and contributed to broader design evolution across the region.

But the goal was never to displace local businesses — it was to become part of the broader ecosystem.

The Moment Trust Is Earned

For Barrett, one of the clearest signs that trust had been established came when developers began actively seeking the company’s involvement in new estates.

“I used to get a lot of satisfaction when developers would come to us and say, ‘You’re getting the first pick of the block for the display home,’” he says.

“You only get that level of trust if they know you will deliver the display, keep it open for two years and generate traffic through marketing.”

That trust was not built through scale alone.

It came from years of consistent delivery, relationship-building and reputation management across the regional property network.

The Long Game of Regional Reputation

Barrett believes the biggest mistake builders make when entering regional markets is expecting quick results.

Trust takes time.

“You have to build trust with developers, agents, banks, brokers, suppliers and trades,” he says.

“And then you have to deliver what you promised with the customers.”

For builders willing to invest in those relationships, the reward can be significant.

Regional markets may be smaller than capital cities, but they often offer long-term stability and loyal customer bases.

And once trust is established, it becomes a powerful competitive advantage.

In the end, Barrett says the formula for regional success is surprisingly simple.

Show up. Build relationships. Deliver on your promises.

Because in regional communities, reputation travels further than any marketing campaign.

Author: TGB Editorial