“CBA has a track record of supporting innovative construction companies, including our work with Modscape since 2017, to bring cutting-edge home-building technology to Australia. Now, we’re proudly joining prefabAUS to work closely with and support local manufacturers. Overseas in countries like Sweden, 80 per cent of houses are being factory built, and we would expect to see Australia’s prefabricated construction sector expand rapidly,” he said.
The bank also plans to introduce policy changes later this quarter, to help improve access to finance for those Australians who are considering purchasing a prefabricated home. Under the new policy – which is a first among the major banks – Commonwealth Bank will enable customers to access progress payments prior to the property being affixed to land, up to 60 per cent of the total contract price, rather than the customer having to fund up to 90 per cent of the upfront costs, which has previously been the case.
Customers who use an accredited CommBank prefab manufacturer to construct their property will be able to access progress payments up to 80 per cent of the total contract price.
“While prefabricated homes are a great housing option for many Australians, they have been historically challenging to finance, with customers needing to cover much of the upfront costs,” said Michael Baumann, Executive General Manager Home Buying at CBA.
“We want to alleviate some of the financial barriers associated with prefabricated properties. We believe these upcoming changes will help to achieve just that, giving more Australians the chance to look at this way of building a home, which could, in turn, help deliver more supply to market faster.”
Damien Crough, founding director of prefabAUS, said working with CBA is significant in overcoming barriers facing the prefabricated housing sector and solidifying its role in addressing Australia’s housing shortage.
“With support from CBA, prefabAUS will tackle some of the challenges facing our members and their clients. We are excited to unlock the potential of off-site construction to address one of the nation’s most critical challenges—providing access to high-quality housing at pace,” Mr Crough said.
“Utilising prefabrication, a house constructed in a controlled factory environment is built in 10 to 12 weeks, compared to around 18-plus months through conventional building,” he added.
Jan Gyrn, Chief Executive Officer of Modscape, a leading offsite manufacturing company in Australia, welcomed the collaboration between CBA and prefabAUS.
“With support from the CBA, we’ve installed a new robotic line at our facility in Essendon Fields that is the first and most advanced of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. It plays a crucial role in facilitating the delivery of large-scale residential projects such as the Affordable Housing Project in Cairns, which is the biggest modular social and affordable housing project in Australia and will see 1,008 volumetric timber modules delivered.
“We’re able to complete 8 modules a day, providing a great option for the rapid delivery of much needed homes for Australians,” Mr Gyrn said.
