Shock shake-up: Kmart, Bunnings owner to build homes 50pc faster

Sophie Foster

Updated 5 May 2026, 12:15pm

First published 5 May 2026, 2:01pm

The Built Living joint venture announcement was made on Tuesday by Built executive chairman Marco Rossi and Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott.

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Kmart and Bunnings owner Wesfarmers is going into construction, claiming they can build apartments 50 per cent faster and 20 per cent cheaper – which could slash as much as $158k off prices.

A company statement released Tuesday confirmed Wesfarmers has entered a 50:50 joint venture with Built Group to establish Built Living, a new business aimed at delivering large-scale apartment projects using advanced manufacturing.

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Wesfarmers is the parent company of popular Aussie hardware firm Bunnings.

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Announcing the move, Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said “Australia urgently needs more housing”.

The joint venture includes an initial $100 million commitment from Wesfarmers to develop Australia’s first advanced manufacturing facility focused on precast concrete construction for medium and high-rise apartments.

The facility will be based in Western Australia and is expected to produce more than 2,000 apartments a year once fully operational, with construction due to begin in the second half of 2026.

The project has backing from the Western Australian Government, which is providing a long-term land lease at the Neerabup Automation and Robotics Precinct as well as support for development.

A portion of output will be reserved for government-backed housing projects, including social and essential infrastructure.

Wesfarmers turned Kmart into a retail giant in the past decade after changing its buying structure.

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The model uses Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) techniques already used overseas, with the aim of cutting build costs by around 20 per cent and reducing construction time by up to 50 per cent compared to traditional methods.

Built executive chairman Marco Rossi said the company had spent years looking globally for solutions to Australia’s housing crunch.

“Across the world’s leading apartment markets, offsite manufacturing is delivered at scale,” he said. “Built Living brings this best practice to Australia.”

Wesfarmers said the investment would be staged and could be expanded into other states depending on performance.

BMT Quantity Surveyors 2026 figures show the average cost to build units in Australia ranged from $3,370 per square metre for a three-level walk-up unit complex with ground floor parking to $5,765/sqm for an eight or more levels complex including lift and basement carparking. Applied to the Australian Bureau of Statistics average apartment floor area of 137 sqm, that would see unit costs range from over $461k to $789k – with a 20 per cent saving coming in as high as $158,000.

The establishment and implementation of the joint venture was subject to execution of binding documentation, obtaining any necessary approvals and the finalisation of funding arrangements with the Western Australian Government and other lenders.

Wesfarmers said the venture was not expected to have a material impact on earnings in the current financial year.