Big names join to build homes cheaper and twice as fast
Corporate behemoth Wesfarmers, the owner of Bunnings and Kmart has pulled those two big names together to create a “prefab” home construction business that promised to deliver dwelling cheaper and twice as fast as conventional builders.
KMART and Bunnings owner Wesfarmers is going into the part pre-fab construction business, claiming they’ll deliver apartments 20% cheaper and 50% faster.
The company has agreed on a 50/50 joint venture with Built Group to establish Built Living.
The business would be “dedicated to delivering residential apartments at scale through advanced manufacturing,” Wesfarmers announced.
It will initially commit up to $100 million to fund a WA factory for precast concrete for medium- and high-rise residential buildings.
Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2026, supporting delivery of more than 2,000 units a year.
It will use Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) methods to deliver apartments at about 20% lower cost and 50% faster than traditional methods.
“Australia urgently needs more housing, and the Built Living joint venture is well positioned to address that need,” Wesfarmers Managing Director Rob Scott said.
“Built brings world-class construction experience, sophisticated digital processes and a strong track record of quality developments.
“Wesfarmers contributes investment capacity and demonstrated capabilities in advanced manufacturing and supply chain management.”
Marco Rossi, Executive Chairman, Built said, “We spent almost two years searching globally for solutions that genuinely work.
“Across the world’s leading apartment markets, offsite manufacturing of high-quality construction elements is delivered at scale.
“Built Living brings this best practice to Australia, strengthened by Built’s AI-enabled digital product capability. Western Australia is the ideal launch point.”
The venture has WA Government support, with a long-term lease in the Neerabup Automation and Robotics Precinct about 40km north of Perth city.
Part of the facility’s annual capacity will be reserved for government housing.
