National Finals for Stonewood Homes Southland in House of the Year
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A Southland-built home is in the running to be named New Zealand’s House of the Year.
Stonewood Homes Southland has been recognised as a Gold Reserve Finalist in the 2019 Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards – the only Southland builder to make it through to the prestigious National Finals.
The latest accolade comes after Stonewood Homes Southland picked up a gold rating and a category victory at the Southern Registered Master Builders 2019 House of the Year competition in August.
Stonewood Holmes Southland director Brendan Akeroyd said it was a first for the company.
“It’s exciting to be going to the national awards and we’re looking forward to seeing how our Southland home shapes up alongside the best homes built around the rest of New Zealand.”
The house at Inverurie Estate in Invercargill was entered in the $600,000 to $750,000 new home category.
The judges described it as an ideal sanctuary for its owners to relax in and to entertain their guests.
“In the coming years, this home will readily adapt to modern family life – future-proofing at its finest,” they said.
Brendan and his wife Rochelle, who founded the company in 2008, are now looking forward to heading to Auckland on November 2 for the national awards ceremony.
As the Southern area in the competition covers Southland, Central Otago and Dunedin, the standard of entrants was always very high, Brendan Akeroyd said.
“Competing against the best homes built in Central Otago and Dunedin shows we’re right up there with workmanship and design.”
The award-winning home was a fantastic blend of edgy and traditional elements, he said.
“It just works perfectly.”
Owners Mike and Tania White had also done a fabulous job landscaping the section, he said.
“You need a few factors to line up for the judges to rate it so highly.”
Of course, what’s good for Stonewood Homes Southland is also good for the local suppliers, which in this case include Aitken Joinery, Flooring Xtra Invercargill, Olphert Contracting Ltd – Invercargill and Placemakers Invercargill.
Stonewood Homes Southland is lining up another milestone, looking forward to handing over its 100th new home towards the end of the year.
With interest-rates low and a buoyant southern real estate market, more and more people were looking at building their own homes, Akeroyd said.
The building market was fairly busy in Southland at the moment with more subdivision land due to come on to the market, he said.
“Everyone seems to be quite busy and quite buoyant.”
The Registered Master Builders House of the Year awards celebrate the very best in residential building. Up to 100 homes achieve Gold Reserve status each year, and proceed to the National Finals.