Ausbuild has drawn directly on the feedback from clients in releasing the first design in a new wave of Ausbuild two storey Town Homes created specifically for narrow homesites.

The 'Hendra' heralds the arrival of the company's new range of Town Homes which are ideally suited to some near-city addresses as well as special precincts in masterplanned communities.

And in creating four versions of the Hendra, Ausbuild has seized the opportunity to include the options of media, leisure and indulgence zones in a series of homes already featuring the choice four or five bedrooms in homes ranging from around 272 square metres, to just over 300 metres.

Ausbuild continues to perform well in a tightening market - primarily due to how the company focuses on its clients and through its commitment to develop cutting edge residential products that deliver quality and value with a minimum of fuss during the construction process.

When the company started 20 years ago, we deliberately set about creating a clearly defined corporate culture. We summarized it to our staff as "if you work at Ausbuild, you are either servicing the needs of a client, or servicing the needs of another staff member who is".

Ausbuild has thrown open the spaces and added a cost saving and water saving roof design to its new Montego home range unveiled with a new display home.

A traditional home design suited to allotments with frontages of 17.5 metres and more, the Montego is offered in three main versions, all of which include a Kidzone where youngster's bedrooms, television and games spaces, toilet and bathroom, are clustered together into an adults-free precinct.

The corporate transition of Ausbuild into the ownership of two of its founding partners, is now complete.

Against a background of sustained growth, Ausbuild directors, Ron Loney and Graham Bell now have acquired the balance of shares held by the third partner in the firm which they collectively established 20 years ago.

In 1988, Mr Loney and Mr Bell who both were Ray White real estate franchisees, identified the potential to launch a home building firm under the Ray White brand..

While the majority of the housing industry continues with a 3.5 star energy rating under the Building Code of Australia design schedule, Ausbuild has pushed to the forefront with a five star rating for its entire range of lowset and two storey homes.

The net benefits for people building an Ausbuild home or purchasing a fully completed turn key home, include greater comfort levels with designs that are cooler in summer and warmer in winter; as well as homes which are far more energy efficient in their running costs.

The five star energy efficiency rating is achieved through a raft of design strategies that include optimizing the solar orientation of the home; utilizing designs that promote cross-flow air circulation; being very selective in the thermal dynamics of building materials; and adopting window sizes, locations and weather shielding elements which are conducive to energy efficiency.

Ausbuild's commitment to achieving the highest standards of energy efficiency have been driven from the top down over the past six months by the company's Sales and Business Development Director, Mr Matthew Bell and the company's in-house architectural design team headed by Mr Brent Fletcher.

The five star energy efficiency is a key feature of the company's revamped range of homes designed specifically for traditional allotments and which includes designs such as Kimberley, Trinity and the Montego featured in this edition of Insight.

The kitchen - it's now a command centre - the domain of the Commander-In-Chief. The role of the kitchen has changed more radically than any other area in the home. Goodbye to post-war stereotypical mums and floral aprons. Instead, here's a place where every member of the family - irrespective of whether that is one person or 10 - can be found.

And not only found there, but empowered with a range of sophisticated technologies and responsibilities.

Adults, or for that matter, older children can keep an eye on youngsters working on computers that no longer are necessarily tucked away in a study, but which can be found at a bureau within sight of the kitchen bench.

• A shortage of housing stock will maintain house prices. Talk of widespread falls in house prices is way off mark. - Warwick Temby, HIA Executive Director

• Only three things induce a residential market slump - a rapid and significant change in interest rates; a significant rise in unemployment and a substantial slowing of population growth.
• Population growth for Queensland in the 12 months to June will be 90,500; the employment growth trend in January has been 2.3 percent; the unemployment trend rate to January is 3.6 percent compared with 4 percent in 2006 and the trend in individual earnings per week is $825 in 2007-2008 versus $817 in 2007.
• There are a few negatives and lots of positives in the market.
• The sources of demand still exist - interest rates don't erase demand, they just delay it.
• Fundamentally we are in very good shape and a pause aside, we will be back on track in the last quarter of 2008.
• To make the most of what we have, some change is necessary - Extracts from an address to Ausbuild by Myles Campbell - State Research Manager, Stockland.

• A construction shortage of 30,000 homes across Australia will grow to 60,000 by June this year and 129,000 midway through 2009. An environment of rising interest rates has compounded the problem with people choosing to wait before or buying property. This means that when interest rates stop rising or eventually start to fall, there will likely be a surge in demand for housing which could result in a price explosion - Economic forecaster, BIS Shrapnel's Director and Chief Economist, Frank Gelber as reported by AAP.