Over 40 years of local knowledge and experience

The Renwick family started building homes in Deniliquin, NSW.

The name 'Hotondo' was established.

We decided that we should no longer trade as a family trust and that we needed an exclusive business entity. We simply picked a name off the shelf! Fortunately, it is unique and over time has become a professional, well-known and respected brand.

Hotondo Homes relocated from Deniliquin, NSW to Melbourne, VIC.

Moving was a practical matter. We had outgrown our country town, so we moved to Melbourne where there were bigger opportunities, better communication and a more diversified talent pool of employees. By 1987, Hotondo Homes was the third largest home builder in Victoria.

1990 - HIA Top Homes Awards
Winner Medium Density - Private

1992 - HIA Award
Most Innovative Design for Small Lots

1992 - HIA Top Homes Awards
Winner Innovative use of Small Lots

The Hotondo Homes franchise network was established.

Franchising was initiated by a builder offering to buy our plans. Soon enough, the original format for the franchise was developed, where we provided plans and better buying prices for builders who were struggling to match the ever-increasing presence of ultra-competitive big builders. In reality, the 'franchise' was more in alignment with a co-operative business structure as it focused on saving money for members, but later became a true franchise with systems, marketing and sales support.

Hotondo Homes built the first 'green' home, and won the MBAV Homes of the Year Award for 'Most Energy Efficient Home of the Year.'

It wasn't a very stylish home, but it was ahead of its time for energy efficiency! The home was sponsored by the Australian Construction Foundation and designed by renowned energy efficient architect, David Oppenheim. The Roxburgh Park home was extremely efficient and built from recycled and low-energy products wherever possible. Managing Director, Michael Renwick, has been passionate about energy efficient homes since the '70s. Pioneering sustainable design, building the first green home has been one of the brand's greatest achievements.

1994 - HIA Top Homes Awards
Winner Marketing Award

1995 - HIA Finalist
Gold Award for Marketing 

Hotondo Homes stopped building homes directly and all new home builds were constructed through the franchise network.

This decision was made as we realised we couldn't serve two masters. We couldn't be both the builder and the franchisor, so we opted to give up building and continued to focus on helping local builders develop successful businesses. A year later, we had our first logo update.

The number of franchised builders peaked at 170.

As the company's direction changed to be a better franchisor, it was decided to review the systems and move towards exclusive territories, national marketing and a greater sales focus. The selection and retention of builders was based on much higher standards. Consequently, the number of franchisees dropped. 

The 'marketing fund' was created.

The marketing fund was first created in South Australia, where builders across the state pooled their money to recieve greater marketing benefits. Over the years, we convinced the builders from other states to join so we could create a national marketing fund.

We rebranded!

We updated the logo to include the word 'Homes' so it was easier for people to know what we did. We also modernised the coloured trusses and updated the tagline to 'Australia's national network of local builders.'

Hotondo Homes became the first building network to receive independent recognition for the excellence of its programs, winning the MYOB Franchise Council of Australia's 'Franchisor of the Year' Award in the Service category.

This was the culmination of many years dedicated to improving our franchise model. The award process benchmarked us against leading franchises in the service industry and judged us to be the best!

'Hugo' the Bear became part of the team.

Hugo is a bear that loves to travel! He is constantly seen posing in front of the Eiffel Tower, or enjoying a relaxing holiday in Bali or Hawaii. If you have a Hugo and take him on holiday, please send photos to media@hotondo.com.au

We updated our logo.

After conducting extensive research, we updated the tagline to 'Australia's leading network of professional builders' as it was clear people were looking for professionalism when choosing a home builder. We also added 'A great find' to our logo.

'Hunter' the German Shorthaired Pointer became the 'family dog' of Hotondo Homes.

Hunter originally came onto the scene for an advertising campaign, however we loved him so much that he's been part of the family ever since. German Shorthaired Pointers are loving family dogs, as well as great hunting dogs, so we thought the name Hunter was fitting. The campaign at the time was promoting how Hotondo Homes is 'A great find', which is why we chose the German Shorthaired Pointer breed. In 2010, we also received a Merit Award from the Franchise Council of Australia for Excellence in Marketing.

For the first time, our National Conference was held overseas in Rotorua, New Zealand.

Hotondo Homes celebrated its 20th year of franchising.

Hotondo Homes was one of the biggest movers in the HIA's Top 100 builder list for 2014.

Building 1,068 homes (almost a 40% increase from the previous year), Hotondo Homes landed at position 17.

Hotondo Homes established its charity partnership with Make-A-Wish® Australia.

We were looking to align our company with one that had similar values, and supporting Make-A-Wish Australia was the perfect partnership. Our network is passionate about helping Make-A-Wish create life-changing wishes for critically ill children and their families.

We updated our logo to the one that we still use today.

Hotondo Homes was named Queensland's preferred home builder, as voted by our happy clients at the 2020 ProductReview.com.au Awards.

Recognised for our commitment to customer satisfaction, Hotondo Homes was named Australia's #1 Home Builder in Customer Excellence at the 2021 ProductReview.com.au Awards.

In 2022, Hotondo Homes was voted as the leading home builder in customer excellence for Sydney and NSW at the 2022 ProductReview.com.au Awards.

Hotondo Homes was recognised as Australia's preferred home builder at the ProductReview.com.au Awards for the second time.

A testament to our dedication to providing unrivalled customer service, Hotondo Homes was named Australia's #1 Home Builder in Customer Excellence at the 2023 ProductReview.com.au Awards. This recognition marked our fourth consecutive award win at the annual awards.

Today, Hotondo Homes continues to be a leading brand in the residential building industry.

With local builders situated across Australia, the company is continuing to grow. Thousands of Australians have trusted Hotondo Homes to build their new home based on our commitment to quality, style and exceptional customer service.