How the builders set themselves apart at Berwick Waters display village

Some Melburnians spend their weekends hiking in Mount Macedon, others watch the footy over a beer. But Rachana Malagi and her partner Charan Manish Shah wake up early to wander through the same neighbourhood of houses over and over again, alongside dozens of strangers doing the same.

The pair have spent several weekends – full days – meandering around the 53 homes at Berwick Waters display village, about 50 kilometres south east of Melbourne’s CBD. It’s one of the biggest in Victoria, attracting prospective buyers who like to envision themselves in their dream homes, on long tours of the perfectly-styled properties.

Ms Malagi is happy to take her time choosing a builder, given the fact that buying the land – a plot in the adjacent Berwick Waters estate – was a decision she and her partner had to make quickly.

“Within a week of seeing the land the first time, it had increased substantially [in price],” says the marketing professional. “We took the time to go out and look at a couple more estates and we got back it had increased … which was stressful.”

Berwick Waters, launched in 2011, is seen as a premium spot by buyers like Ms Malagi. Its position next to more established suburbs puts it at the start of the growth corridor, where endless estates trail out to the south east.

It may seem distant to inner-city Melburnians, but for those who work around employment hubs such as Dandenong and Monash medical and university precinct, Berwick and the surrounding suburbs keep them close to jobs. Nearly 60 per cent of workers in the City of Casey also lived in the area during the 2011, and both jobs and housing have grown considerably since.

It makes sense for Victoria’s big builders to set up shop here: Henley, Metricon, Simonds, Porter Davis and Burbank are among those vying for the attention of those looking to build a home in this patch.

“Customers can do comparison shopping all in one place, so they can see the different things they like,” says Frasers’ general manager Sarah Bloom. “They spend whole days and lots of people come down multiple times … Not many people have that ability to visualise three-dimensionally, so to see it is really exciting for them because they envision their dream.”

Unsurprisingly, there’s competition between the builders to set themselves apart.

“Builders jockey for position in these display villages,” says Jill Lim, Frasers’ development director. “They like to be located near our sales office or the carpark, or they even create their own carpark.”

Henley is one such builder, enjoying the coveted entrance position to the village and offering its own carpark, cafe and kids’ area.

“Other builders display one or two homes in a location, we actually have seven designs,” says Justin McDean, Henley general manager. “It means they wont miss you and they’ll walk through ours before anybody else’s.”

Another major point of difference is styling, with builders employing dedicated interior designers to make the homes look on trend.

“It’s really important, we have a dedicated team that work on that,” says Mr McDean. “Some builders choose specific themes like London or New York, but we like to be classic and hit a bigger broader group.”

For Ms Malagi, who is choosing between a Henley-designed home and Simonds design, the styling was definitely something which affected her decisions.

“The reality is though that lot of the displays have a lot of upgrades which do not come in a standard package,” she says, when asked what advice she’d give others prospective buyers. “It’s very important to understand that as fancy as they display house might look, it’s important to understand what comes in just the regular package, so you’re not disappointed.”