Homes by CMA Builder Review

Overview

Homes by CMA are a family-owned and operated builder based in Brisbane. They began operations in 2009 and have steadily built their reputation and workload since then, building 515 homes between Coomera and the Sunshine Coast in 2021. In our Homes by CMA builder review, we’ll take a look at their track record as well as some things we like and don’t like about them.

Homes by CMA Display Homes

CMA have 7 display homes across Queensland all of which can be inspected via virtual tour as well.

• 5 & 7 Newton Street, Burpengary East 
  North Harbour (10am to 5pm Sat – Wed)
• 11 & 13 Rani Street, Newport
  Stockland Newport (10am to 5pm everyday)
• 24 Leslie Crescent, Baringa
  Stockland Aura (10am to 5pm Friday – Tuesday)
• 22 & 24 Unity Lane, South Ripley
  Providence by Oliver Hume (10am to 5pm Sat – Wed)

Homes by CMA also have a design studio at 41 Flinders Pde, North Lakes Open (Monday to Friday 8:30 am – 5 pm, Saturday 9 am – 4 pm.

What People Think

Homes with CMA have operated for 12 years so Brisbane’s had some time to work out what they think of them.

Product review has them with a high average rating but let’s take a look at some personal accounts of peoples experiences with them.

The Good…

✅ Many satisfied customers have praised CMA for their generous standard inclusions and communication. The Director of Homes by CMA also frequently replies to feedback online.

✅ A lighthearted testimony from a Product Reviews user makes note of their friendliness in comparison to other builders he was considering.

When I deal with sales representative, I dress not so well (in shorts, thongs, hair not fixed)… I would say 90% of all the display homes sales reps just wanted me off their property and just provide me with brochures and shove me away… Then I visited Clare and Vince Nastri, who not only allowed me to asked a lot of question, but went beyond my expectations of explaining each of the phases of the building process – from needed finance commitments up to the last bit of design intricacies with respect to the lot size selection.

Nico M. ProductReview.com

✅ Another Product Review user explains that the site manager took the time to attend the handover.

The fact that the managing director was at handover to do a final check that the home was built and presented to his standard shows the care and dedication this company takes with building a home not just a house

Elizabeth H. ProductReview.com

✅ Something important to note is that Homes by CMA don’t subscript to the bait and line tactics that a lot of other builders do. With CMA you won’t pay any deposit until the entire planning phase from the colours to fixtures of your home is complete.

The Bad…

⛔️ Some home builders have drawn attention to delays the Homes with CMA are currently facing. We were able to find examples on both their Facebook community page and Google reviews of customers explaining these delays. In this example, a solicitor was involved in order to get the build moving again.

⛔️ On Google reviews, another customer voices their concern for the delays they are facing and Homes by CMA owner Chris Baptista responds to explain the situation. The ‘grant’ referred to here is the First Home Builders grant offered by the government in response to covid-19.

Homes by CMA owner Chris is frank about why delays and miscommunications are occurring at CMA but this doesn’t mean that it’s still not a good situation to put you in.

Tips for Building with Homes by CMA ✍️

Investigate their inclusions

Homes by CMA claim to have the best standard inclusions but this doesn’t mean you won’t need to purchase upgrades at all. Work out what upgrades are important to you and stick to your budget. Customers have indicated they spent between 15k – 100k on upgrades with CMA.

They don’t offer much compensation if they fall behind schedule

• The standard penalty rate paid by builders if they don’t finish your house on time is $50 a day. This is to help you pay for rent or accommodation while you wait to move into your new home.
• CMA usually offer only $25 a day.
• If your build falls behind expect to cover accommodation largely out of your own pocket as CMA Homes’s penalty rate will likely not cover your entire rent while they get back on track.
• These small print conditions can often be overlooked in the contract phrase, and with so many builders falling behind this year it’s important to understand why.

Don’t expect flexibility unless you know what you’re doing.

Homes by CMA aren’t known to be very flexible and we’ve seen a few instances where this has cost their customers time and money.

The chances of getting an error like this rectified by the builder are very unlikely and mistakes like this happen more often than you think. The more you vary from the builder’s original design the more likely it is they will blame the mistake on you not understanding the way the building works.

Designs and Inclusions

Single and Double Storey Designs

Homes by CMA has a range of single and double-storey designs that are ready to build.

• 46 single storey designs
• 15 double-storey designs

Custom designs

Builders at CMA are open to customers bringing in design inspiration and sketches to work with them to custom design your home. These sketches help them to create a concept plan that acts as the basis of your custom home design. Their custom designs are advertised to cost no more. Instead, you pay per square meter at a rate dependent on the size of the house.

People that have built custom with CMA have indicated that their custom build did come at a time cost. Due to extended drafting time frames and error rates, the builds took longer resulting in them spending a few extra dollars along the way.

So be aware that while on paper it costs no more you may end up paying more due to the longer planning and build time.

Inclusions

Homes by CMA claim to have the best inclusions for less. However, everyone’s needs are different and people often value different inclusions and upgrades. So your best bet is to check out their standard inclusions list and see if it lines up with your lifestyle.

A more detailed list of their inclusions as well as what’s excluded can be found here.

Steel Frames as Standard might not be what you want!

CMA Homes offer steel frames as standard with their builds. In fact, they’ll charge you more to build a home with a timber frame. While this may sound great this may not be what you want. Choosing between steel and timber frames will lead to some pretty important differences in how your home turns out. Check out our guide on Steel vs Timber frames to work out which is right for you.

Queensland Building Construction Commission Record

• Homes by CMA have a completely clean QBCC record with no history of direction to rectify defective work or disciplinary action raised against the builder.
• This means that CMA upholds their responsibility for post-construction repair during the 12 month structural warranty.

? Awards ?

• Courier Mail One of Brisbane’s Best Builders
• Stockland People’s Choice Winner

Conclusions

• Homes by CMA offer home designs at very reasonable prices and don’t try and trap you into a deposit before you know what you getting.
• Their process however slows them down, things like requests to change get qued behind everyone else and can make the process come to a crawl.

Want to compare more builders?
We’ve done the research for you.
Check out our list of builders we’ve reviewed here.