21/04/2026
A well-planned build is built twice: once on paper, once on site. The first build is where the costly mistakes get solved for free.
It sounds counterintuitive. The building sector has softened, the economic headlines are cautious, and confidence is down. So why would we say now is a great time to build?
Because it is if you’re strategic about it. For anyone seriously considering a custom home, the next six to nine months represent one of the best windows we’ve seen in years.
For a well-resolved, considered house, the kind we design at OTO Group, the journey from first conversation to breaking ground is roughly six to nine months depending on the complexity of the brief and the site. Design, engineering, consenting, and planning all happen before a single trade sets foot on site.
Start that process now and you break ground in summer. Foundations, framing, and getting the house weathertight all happen in the best weather window of the year. Interior fit-out runs through winter once the house is dry.
When the building sector is busy, subcontractors don’t return calls and pricing comes back late and padded. Designers end up working with guesses and these lead to more expensive building sites. It is always preffered to have plenty of time to make decisions without pressure or hurry.
In a quiet market, this inverts. Builders, electricians, plumbers, they actually engage with the design process. They return accurate pricing based on current rates, because they genuinely want the work. That means by the time you go to build, you know what the house will cost, not an estimate that blows out on the way. That’s a very different experience from building in a boom, and it’s one that only exists in a market like this one.
We also want engaged trades, we want the people who are going to be building your dream home to understand the design, the thinking behind it and what is going into it.
So if you’ve been thinking of building a house, reach out and let’s have a chat about what to do next and why now is a great time to be talking about your dream home.
