Victorian builders shine at MBV Excellence in Housing Awards

Builders from around Victoria gathered for the prestigious Master Builders Victoria Excellence in Housing Awards at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium last week.

With a record attendance of 962 guests, Saltwater Builders based at Rosebud and led by director Robbie Dunball, was awarded the prestigious title of the 2024 Master Builder of the Year.

The award judges described Saltwater Builders award winning project as a stunning architecturally designed home that required millimetre-perfect precision, a challenging high-end three-storey cottage extension.

The St Andrew’s Beach home was also praised by judges as ‘demonstrating a level of craftmanship and finish that is truly exceptional in the industry’ that paid testament to the Saltwater team’s commitment to extensive pre-planning, precise set-outs, careful material choices and unrelenting onsite supervision.

Australian Building Company (ABC), which has their Lloyd display in Armstrong Creek, along with five displays across Tarneit, Werribee and Ballarat, also took out an award for Best Display Home in the $300,000-$350,000 range, while Metricon received a Special Commendation for Best Display Home in the $500,000-$750,000 category.

Victoria sales and brand manager at ABC, Jeremy Shortis, expressed his excitement over the win.

“We are honoured to receive the award for the ABC Lloyd 29 at the recent Master Builders Victorian Excellence in Housing Awards at Crown Palladium,” he said.

“This accolade highlights the passion, innovation, and teamwork that underpin everything we do at ABC Homes.

“We take immense pride in the efforts of everyone involved, and this recognition reinforces our commitment to leading in design, quality, and affordability.

“At ABC, we’re dedicated to creating homes that inspire and elevate the living experience while remaining within reach for all,” Mr Shortis concluded.

Master Builders Victoria chief executive officer Michaela Lihou applauded the winners saying they represented the very best of Victoria’s building and construction industry and were extremely deserving of these prestigious industry accolades.

“You only have to look at the quality of the work of all of the winners and finalists to see that we are truly talking about the very pinnacle of our industry,” she said.

In the regional category, a three-storey cottage extension in Mildura on a site with tight access, high traffic flow and overhead powerlines all combined to present the team at Bruce Lee Builder from Mildura with some major challenges that they conquered masterfully, to take out the title of the 2024 Regional Residential Master Builder of the Year.

Starting his building career as a carpentry apprentice at the age of 18, before becoming a registered builder at the age of 26 and establishing Vigor Homes based at Croydon South, Matthew Tennant took home the title of the 2024 Residential Young Builder of the Year.

Recognised for his dedication to quality building, sustainability and local partnerships, Mr Tennant is also committed to staff retention and he and his team operate on an innovative profit-sharing basis, which has proven to be very successful.