Supporting Australia’s prefabricated housing sector

What’s the news?

• CBA is helping modular home builder Oly Homes to nearly triple its output as part of a broader effort to make prefabricated housing more accessible to Australians, while also launching its new initial list of CommBank Assessed Manufacturers.
• Funding from CBA will support Oly Homes with the construction of a new 21,900 square metre factory on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. 
• The new facility will allow Oly Homes to increase its output from around 200 homes a year to approximately 550 homes annually.
• Oly Homes expects to complete the new factory in the second half of 2026. The facility is expected to create 70 new jobs and support economic growth in the region while delivering more housing supply to the market sooner.

What are CommBank Assessed Manufacturers?

• CommBank’s new Assessed Manufacturers list provides Australians with a list of prefab builders that have met the bank’s eligibility criteria.¹ For more information on the requirements each manufacturer must meet, visit CommBank.
• Customers who choose one of these builders for a fixed-price build contract up to $1.5 million will be able to access progress payments of up to 80 per cent of the contract price or 150 per cent of the land equity (whichever is lower) before the home is affixed to the land.
• Customers who choose non-CommBank Assessed Manufacturers can access progress payments for prefabricated dwellings prior to the property being affixed to land for up to 60 per cent of the total contract price or 120 per cent of the land equity (whichever is lower).
• Prior to CommBank’s expanded policies, a customer would have had to fund up to 90 per cent of the upfront costs.
• Oly Homes is among the first builders on the CommBank Assessed Manufacturers list with its new funding also aimed at the company taking advantage of the growing popularity of modular homes.
• If you’re a manufacturer interested in joining CommBank Assessed Manufacturers – please get in touch with us via email: BBPrefabManufacturers@cba.com.au

Quotes from Mike Vacy-Lyle, Group Executive Business Banking, CBA 

“Oly Homes can build and install a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom house in just 9 weeks – but even they can’t keep up with the surging demand amid the national housing shortage,” said Vacy-Lyle.

“We’re proud to support Oly Homes to scale up and deliver much needed housing. Imagine what could be achieved if this innovative housing model was more widely adopted – bringing more homes to market quickly and easing housing accessibility and affordability pressures across Australia.”

Quotes from Dale Funston, Managing Director of Oly Homes

“Factory production means we don’t lose build days to weather, we have all trades on hand every day so there’s no time lost to scheduling errors, and with standard plans and multiple projects going concurrently, we deliver high quality homes to our customers faster, with less waste,” Funston said.

“But the number of customers knocking on our door wanting a home is now outpacing what we can deliver, even with all our efficiency, so it’s time to expand.”

Quotes from Marcos Meneguzzi, Executive General Manager Home Buying, CBA

“CommBank’s prefabricated home lending policy gives customers access to funding during the offsite construction phase so they don’t have to fund this all themselves. Customers building with a CommBank Assessed Manufacturer will now be able to access more funding upfront providing even greater financial flexibility,” Meneguzzi said.

"We are committed to helping more Australians achieve their homeownership goals and believe this change will open the door for more people to explore prefabricated home construction as a potentially faster building method."

Go to CBA Newsroom for the latest news and announcements from Commonwealth Bank.