Q& A SIGNATURE HOMES PAPAKURA-FRANKLIN
Murray and Debbie Garland
Signature Homes has been a major part of the New Zealand residential construction scene for more than 38 years with Karaka couple, Murray and Debbie Garland, well known for owning the Papakura/Franklin franchise. Over the past 28 years plus, they have built a solid reputation for experience, progressive ideas, sound building practices and customer support. Now they have just opened a new Signature Homes show home in Drury’s Auranga estate. SOUTH asked them about today’s hot demand for new builds.
It seems as soon as new house and land packages come onto the market they are snapped up – has this been your experience and if so have you been able to cater for all new home requests which have come your way? There is a very high demand for House and Land packages as they make it easy for new home buyers to purchase and we have definitely experienced this. We have clients waiting for land to be released so that we can build them a home.
All of our House & Land packages are a fixed price and are all inclusive, including earthworks, driveways and patios plus building consents so there are no surprises for our clients. They are all built to the same high quality synonymous with the Signature Homes brand.
the sites that we had but there are more stages coming soon, with Stage 7 due to be released in the very near future. We have a show home at 25 Jonah Lomu Drive and we are in the process of building an exciting new show home which will be completed towards the end of this year.
Your new show home is at Auranga – heralded to become a major hub of the future – do you have sites available there?
If a plan doesn’t work for a client we can look at other options, or start the design from scratch. Our packages are suitable for anyone who wants to live in an attractive, modern home and a vibrant community and who also want to know cost right from the start. Buyers include astute investors and families wishing to capitalise on the tremendous growth of the area.
Auranga is certainly going to be a major part of the Franklin area with a new shopping mall and transport hub. We don’t currently have any available sites in Auranga to build on.
You have also had a significant presence in the new Paerata Rise community; have you exhausted your sites there or are there more to come? Do you still have a show home there?
We also have a show home in Pokeno and we are building in all areas of Papakura and Franklin including Papakura, Karaka, Puni, Paerata Rise, Auranga, Bombay, Glenbrook, Patumahoe, Pokeno. We also have a build in Pauanui. In addition we build on client’s own land and have fun working with them to create a design that fits with their lifestyle.
What are some common inclusions in your House & Land packages and who are they best suited to?
Paerata Rise is a very sought-after community to live in and we have many clients who want to build their home there. We have sold all
Are you seeing more people subdividing their own properties or even demolishing an older house, in order to build new on
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Although you have a big interest in Auranga (and Paerata Rise), where else in Franklin are you building and do you build on clients’ own pre-purchased land?
the same site and therefore have a modern home with all the new healthy homes features? Yes, we are certainly seeing a lot of that starting to happen. As demand for land increases, it makes sense to utilise the land you already own and build a modern home which is healthy and warm. Furthermore, many modern homes are low maintenance which fits with people’s busy lifestyles. By subdividing and building at least one other dwelling on your land also helps to create a nest egg for some people. Franklin district has seen a surge in new building over the past five years, how significant has this been for Signature Homes? This has had a huge impact on our business, and we have become better at providing housing solutions for the anyone looking to build by way of offering many House & Land package options as land has become available. There are many building www.southmagazine.co.nz
