Avia Homes founder Tom Egan’s trailblazing growth shakes up industry norms

The Gold Coast-based Avia Homes currently has capacity to build more than 700 homes annually, leveraging growth through its newly established consumer-facing business DARE Homes.

Avia Homes has active residential projects across South-East Queensland, including Toowoomba, with DARE Homes, which was launched a month ago, set to open seven display homes in six locations over the next six months.

It’s a solid achievement for a business that was established in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic when many builders were struggling and some were collapsing around it.

“I figured that if I could build a business in the hardest of times, surviving and growing, then I would thrive as things got better,” Egan tells Business News Australia.

Avia Homes was founded by Egan to bring greater transparency for buyers with a focus on speed to the market. That means up-front pricing for all inclusions, a policy that many homebuilders eschew.

It also means building relationships with sub-contractors to support its growth trajectory which Egan says is now targeting 1,000 homes a year for both Avia Homes, which has turned its focus to corporate projects, and DARE Homes, the brand that now deals directly with homebuyers.

The turning point for Egan, the Trailblazer winner at the 2025 Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur Awards and a finalist in the national awards, came early from his experience working in the development industry.

“I witnessed firsthand the stress, uncertainty and poor communication clients experienced during that time. It inspired me to do things differently,” says Egan.

“I saw an opportunity to rebuild trust in the industry by creating a company that prioritised transparency, reliability and operational excellence.

“That vision became Avia Homes, a builder designed from the ground up to deliver a better, faster and more dependable experience for both clients and staff.”

In its first full financial year, Avia Homes achieved revenue of $55 million, doubling that in FY24 to $110 million. The company achieved sales of $170 million in FY25 with many of those contracts being delivered in the current financial year.

Speed to market has been critical to this growth, especially in a dynamic property market when buyers can lose out to others who are more prepared. It starts with a quick turnaround in pricing for the build and delivering the transparency that Egan says today’s buyers demand.

While homebuilders typically quote a base price for their homes and then upscale with the extras that buyers want, Avida Homes starts at the top with a completed build price and scales it back by excluding what the customer either doesn’t want or can’t afford.

“A lot of builders don’t like committing to the prices and they normally try to load the price to charge you later when you are further committed – that’s the problem,” says Egan.

While this puts a higher price up front for Avia Homes, Egan says his clients appreciate the costings when they are explained to them.

“Buyer expectations have changed; people want to know the truth - and they want to know upfront," he says.

“Instead of trying to provide pricing with things missing and them having to come up with more money, we just include the entire price all in one for them.

“We never want to get into a fight about what is missing. If the buyer wants anything removed, then it’s up to them and not us.”

The other critical factor is the time it typically takes to get a quote from a builder, which can sometimes stretch out to two weeks.

“We can do it in 48 hours, and in regard to contracts we take just 24 hours when some builders can take a month,” says Egan.

“The longer buyers take from pricing their home build to buying, especially when they already own their land, they are losing money because of mortgage payments.

“But typically, buyers need to fund both the house and land, and they also have very strict deadlines to meet, especially in a hot market like now.

“If you can’t make a quick decision for your bank, you could lose the opportunity to buy the block.

“The buyer can’t wait for a builder to provide them with pricing in four weeks. Finance may also lapse and then they have lost the opportunity to buy a great block of land.”

Egan says more homebuyers are reacting positively to the Avia Homes approach, and he notes that the building industry should adapt to this change in buyer sentiment.

“Instead of trying to pick a piece of the same model you ran 20 years ago, it’s time for a change.

“People are more self-educated than ever before because there is so much more information online, on socials and on forums. They want to know what they are up for from the start.”

However, building a business that can produce 1,000 homes a year also requires the right staff and Egan says this was one of the early priorities for Avia Homes.

“I made a point of attracting the right people to create a culture that they actually want to be a part of – one that made it a lot of fun and that, as we grew, we would never lose sight of that,” says Egan.

“I really wanted to create a business where we do the right thing and honour our word. Unfortunately, that’s not how it happens out there in our industry.

“These were my core basic principles that I have followed consistently and it just worked.”

Avia Homes currently employs about 80 head-office staff and hundreds of subcontractors. The office team has doubled over the past year alone as the company lays the foundations for its next phase of growth.

“Construction supervisors are hard to come by, but we are fortunate to attract quality people due to the presence and brand we have created and most importantly we retain all of our staff, so retention of staff is extremely high,” says Egan.

Using the same approach with its sub-contractors as it does with its staff is also critical to the Avia Homes growth plans.

“Instead of monthly accounts we pay weekly. We spend a lot of time reviewing their rates, scope of works, the finished product and how to make things easier for them," says Egan.

“We also look at how organised they are and how their systems run. Over time we have pulled in more trades to work with us because it’s easier for them.”

With the recent launch of DARE Homes, the parent company Avia Homes is focusing on larger-scale projects where DARE will be the front-facing consumer brand.

“Avia works with developers at the very early stages to bring more projects out,” says Egan.

“We model up a lot of design work and products for developers to take to council and work out what will be their best options for a particular project.

“We also have a separate business called Urban Ventures Group which does its own land developments, and we already have a couple of projects under way.”

Industry frustrations amid the success

Amid the successes, there are also frustrations, with land supply for new developments a major issue in South-East Queensland.

“The land component is out of the developer’s control and the government can do more there,” says Egan.

“But in terms of supporting the industry, we are seeing fewer people going into trades every year.

“Many early apprentices don’t finish their terms – often because the work is too harsh or the way they are treated is too harsh.

“But the government should be spending more time supporting those subcontractors in developing trades and in how to run successful businesses.

“They need to nurture the talent we already have to create a better environment for the industry.”

While Avia Homes has ambitious growth plans for its home market of South-East Queensland, Egan is also eying national expansion plans.

“Where and when is still to be determined,” he says.

For now, he is happy to grow in his local region which he says has the fundamentals for sustainable growth for some time yet.

“There’s always a new buyer turning 18 every year, so the supply is constantly there regardless.

“Everything we are doing now in diversifying the business is for the long term and the real reward for us is yet to come.”