Overview
Hallmark Homes are based in South East Queensland and build about 500 homes a year, with over 10,000 homes built since they started 44 years ago. In our Hallmark Homes Builder Review, we will take a look at what we like and don't like, as well as give you some tips on what to expect when building with them.
Hallmark Homes are a builder focused on low-set homes and acreage properties with no double-storey designs. Building as far south as Burleigh Heads and as far north as Maroochydore, this family-owned business has built homes all around the state.
Hallmark Display Homes
Hallmark Homes have display homes all around the state and have 18 online virtual tours available on their website. Note: their Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and North Lakes Locations do not have display homes but do have representatives that oversee inquiries and operations in these areas.
Aura Sunshine Coast - 51 & 53 Hart Crescent, Bells Creek QLD 4551 - Open daily
10:00am – 5:00pm
Burpengary East - 1 Cameron Road, Burpengary East QLD 4505 - Friday - Tuesday
10:00am – 4:00pm
Wednesday & Thursday by appointment
Kensington Grove - 3 Stirling Drive, Kensington Grove QLD 4341 - Friday - Tuesday
10:00am – 4:00pm
Wednesday & Thursday by appointment
Kinma Valley - 77 Morinda Circuit, Morayfield QLD 4506 - Saturday - Wednesday
10:00am – 5:00pm
Redland Bay - 24 & 26 Jingeri Street, Redland Bay QLD 4165 - Saturday - Wednesday
10:00am – 5:00pm
SkyRidge - 27 & 29 Parkway Circuit, Worongary QLD 4213 - Thursday - Monday
10:00am – 5:00pm
Springfield Rise - 5 & 7 Grafton St, Spring Mountain QLD 4300 - Open daily
10:00am – 5:00pm
Woodhill - 11-15 Townsvale Drive, Woodhill QLD 4285 - Saturday - Wednesday
10:00am – 4:00pm
Friday by appointment
Gold Coast - Mobile new home consultant servicing Gold Coast area - By appointment only
What People Think of Hallmark Homes
Hallmark Homes have a huge amount of glowing testimonies and reviews on their own website, but what do people have to say elsewhere online? They have a positive rating on ProductReview.com but outside of that site, there's not much more to go off so we took a dive into what we could find.
The Good
✅ Of their online reviews, there seems to be a lot of praise for the team. In this review 2 years on from the completion of their build, they highlight the fact that even this long after their build Hallmark Homes were happy to help them make a claim on a fault found.
✅ This couple in their 60s had great things to say about Hallmark's openness to change and collaboration when it came to redesigning their house plans. Note: this would have been in the pre-contract phase, these types of changes would cost you once you're signed up.
Ron was always available by phone or email. He spent so much time explaining and discussing things especially our laundry which we changed the layout of 6 times. I have never had a "proper" laundry..It has always been in the garage or underneath an old queenslander. He constantly thinks about things and would say no that won't work because the door is here or you need more bench space or a cupboard here....We changed our plans quite a few times and he had a myriad of suggestions and was so helpful.
He was always thinking of how it would work on a day to day basis to live in.
Nothing was too much trouble. We chose a house ,gutted the plan and with Rons help designed it the way we wanted it to be.
ProductReviews.com Review 5 stars
The Bad
⛔️ In one instance a Hallmark Homes customer was unsatisfied with the quality of plumbing work in their new home. As you can see in this picture plywood has been used to fix piping in place.
⛔️ When they asked Hallmark to replace the work with a higher quality finish they were told to 'stop looking for problems' as it would all be fixed by the PCI (practical completion inspection). However, when PCI came around this is what the customer was told.
⛔️ This isn't the only instance of self-certified work being defective with Hallmark Homes. Here it was discovered that light switches had not been isolated properly.
⛔️ The bottom line here is that if you're building with Hallmark Homes make sure you have knowledgeable independent inspectors on your side to make sure their self-certified work isn't being passed without being properly tested by someone with your interests in mind, not the builders.
⛔️ Another criticism of the Hallmark Homes process was that they can be pushy with their upgrades. In one review a Hallmark customer explained that they had a very present experience building with them.
Design centre was good, the staff there were so helpful. The electrical appointment was fine - we knew we wanted basic inclusions because we are doing our own upgrades now. But the sales person seemed intent on pushing her up sells and wouldn’t listen to what we wanted. It took quite a bit of effort and a mild panic attack to get her to design what we wanted, which was pretty disappointing considering it’s our house not Hers but we got there in the end.
ProductReview.com User Review 4 Stars
Honestly probably the only negative experience we had through the whole build.
When building within a budget or with a clear image of what you want your home to look like, remember to stand your ground. The job of salespeople at building companies is to upsell you on upgrades and their reasons to upgrade can sound very convincing but remember your budget and stick to the plan.
Tips When Building with Hallmark Homes ✍️
Understand their entry-level prices and entry-level inclusions
- Hallmark Homes offer some very appealing entry-level prices that are a key reason a lot of people consider them in the first place. These prices are however for their entry-level inclusions and designs.
- Where most people end up spending their money with Hallmark is on upgrades and the costs to change designs and features.
Hope you don't have a change of mind
- Hallmark are not very flexible once the plans have been drawn up. So if your pondering over your floorplan, don't lock it in just yet.
- This can be hard to do as even site preparation won't begin until your design is finalised.
- If you do sign up and decided you'd like to make a change to the design expect it to come at a hefty change fee.
- With change fees added to even the smallest adjustments to your selections, these can add up and quickly put you over budget.
Make sure to have an expert independent inspect their work
- Hallmark Homes allow their contractors to self-certify their work.
- What you believe to be quality work and what Hallmark approves as quality work can be two vastly different things.
- If building with Hallmark Homes make sure you've got someone on your side that can make sure the work completed on your home is independently certified for quality.
- Contractors who regularly work for Hallmark may self-certify their work, creating a shared incentive to approve it. Or it will come out of their pockets to fix their mistakes.
- Without someone on your side who knows how to prove poor quality work isn't up to standard, you won't have a leg to stand on even with the QBCC. The QBCC only recognises defective work if it's not working at the time of inspection; even if it looks like it could fall apart tomorrow!
Need an expert on your side?
We'll make sure nothing slips through the cracks.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
Hallmark Home Designs
Hallmark homes focus solely on single-storey homes and divide their designs into suitability based on your block size. They offer specifically tailored designs for acreage properties and build on narrow plots. They also have a customisable range of floorplans in their LUMA range for people wanting more flexibility with their design.
Narrow Lot Range
Hallmark Homes’ Narrow Lot range, part of their Luma collection, is designed for blocks with limited frontage, typically 10 m to 12.5 m wide. These single‑storey homes make the most of smaller lots without sacrificing space or style, offering smart layouts that include double garages, generous living areas, and efficient floor plans.
The range features multiple designs such as Kawana 159, Kawana 182, Buddina 177, Abbey 168, Abbey 188, and Abbey 191, with several façade options to suit different tastes.
Luma Range
The Luma range offers modern single-storey homes designed to suit a variety of lifestyles. These homes are ideal for narrow blocks from 10m to 12.5m wide, but they also look great on larger lots. Even if your block has limited frontage, you’ll still have plenty of design and façade options to choose from.
Nest Range
The Nest range from Hallmark Homes is designed mainly for growing families and larger blocks. These homes usually have bigger floor plans, multiple living areas, and flexible layouts that can be customised to suit different family needs.
Compared to the Luma range, which focuses on affordable homes for narrow blocks, Nest homes provide more space, extra rooms like media areas or kids’ retreats, and are generally suited to medium-to-large block sizes.
Eden Range
Hallmark Homes designed the Eden range for acreage properties and very large blocks of land. These homes are typically larger and more spacious, with features like big open-plan living areas, media rooms, studies, and large kitchens.
Eden homes maximise space and suit the lifestyles of people living on large rural or semi-rural properties, unlike Luma and Nest ranges.
Inclusions
Hallmark Homes offers two main inclusion packages: Harmony, the standard level that provides solid quality features as part of the base price, and Inspire Luxury, a premium upgrade with more refined finishes, fittings, and luxury touches. More information linked here.
Harmony Inclusions
This is the standard level included as part of the base price of a Hallmark home. It includes solid quality features such as 20 mm Lithostone kitchen benchtops, Bosch kitchen appliances, and ceramic tiles. Also standard tapware, termite‑resistant framing, a three‑coat paint system, and typical external finishes like Colourbond roof and garage door.
Inspire Luxury Inclusions
This is the upgraded, higher‑end package. It builds on the Harmony base with a selection of enhanced finishes and fixtures. That includes things like upgraded tapware (e.g. Gareth Ashton), more premium cabinetry and storage finishes, luxurious bench materials throughout. Also choice of colours and upgraded appliances, higher ceilings in some cases, and more premium interior and exterior details.
Harmony Luxury Upgrade Package
The Harmony Luxury Upgrade Package costs $1999 and includes German appliances, stone benchtops, and stylish black tapware. Available with Luma, Nest, and Eden ranges, the Harmony Luxury Upgrade Package adds extra style and luxury to standard homes. More information linked here.
Things you may still have to pay for:
- Their Luma inclusions afford an S classification slab that will almost always need to upgraded to at least M classification.
- Additional Council requirements,
- Slab/ footing piers,
- Retaining walls,
- Soil stabilization and retention,
- Rock excavation,
- Tree removal,
- Acoustic requirements,
- Bushfire requirements,
- A.H.D. requirements,
- Sand/metal pipe bedding (if required by local authority).
QBCC Record
Hallmark Homes have no recorded disciplinary actions against them with the QBCC and maintain a clean licence record. This indicates they have not been subject to regulatory disciplinary action and have maintained compliance with QBCC requirements.
Conclusions
- Hallmark Homes offer well-priced entry-level designs. However their affordable prices can begin to rise when you want to make design changes or add upgrades.
- There have been issues with the quality of their builds. Often their contractors will self-certify the quality of their work which in turn is good enough for Hallmark to approve it. Make sure an expert independently certifies that the work on your home meets your standards.
- Their speciality in low-set homes on both narrow and acreage-sized properties is rare. Especially their acreage-specific homes that not many builders offer.
