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Shane and Helene Helms, owners of Golden Homes North Shore, are always excited to see new communities take shape. The couple have built their business from scratch over the past 20 years and now employ 17 full-time staff and over 500 subcontractors including their employees to build 100 homes a year across West Auckland, North Shore and Rodney districts.

“We provide a good product at a very fair price,” Shane says. “A lot of our growth is word of mouth and repeat customers and that’s really been key. I pride myself on the quality and finish of the homes we build. Even if issues arise outside the maintenance period we’ve always gone back and looked after our customers.”

Golden Homes specialises in steel framing rather than timber and Shane loves the variety the business brings. “I haven’t built the same house twice in the past 20 years. Every house is completely different. Each client has a different wish list and a different idea of what their perfect home should look like so we’re always dealing with new materials, new products and new contractors which keeps it exciting.”

While the price of land in Auckland remains expensive, the size of sections and houses is getting smaller to reduce the overall cost. “Our most popular house size 10 years ago was about 250-280m² whereas now our average size would be a 170-180m² home. In time it will get smaller. I can foresee that dropping down to 140-150m² reasonably soon.”

Helene runs marathons and Shane races an Audi TT in his spare time but the pair are committed to growing their business and achieving greater success in years to come.

“The biggest thing you get with us is experience. The majority of my staff have been with me for over 10 years. We’ve had a lot of changes in the building sector but they’ve been around; they know what’s happening. We offer realistic prices and great service thanks to the experience within our team.”