A1homes

L-R – Paul Southey, Tim Fenwick, Anthony Murray, Paul Marlow

Building homes for Wairarapa people for over 16 years

For the team at A1homes Wairarapa it’s people – their needs and their stories, that drive them to create beautiful homes for their clients to live in. According to Paul Southey, owner of A1homes Wairarapa, “I could not operate my business without our wonderful diverse staff and our awesome team of contractors and suppliers. Simple really – it’s all about the people”

A1homes branches are individually owned and operated throughout New Zealand and offer all kinds of designs ranging from 60sqm to 250sqms. How you wish to approach your build can vary too. You can either get A1 to co-ordinate and build your home, or A1 will supply the materials and you can co-ordinate the build using the kitset option. A1homes is passionate about strong networks, both in business and in the community. This is refl ected in the experienced team working in the local residential housing business.

The men behind A1homes Wairarapa:

Paul Southey

Paul and his wife Jeanette established the Wairarapa branch of A1homes in 2005. Raised in South Wairarapa, they met as students at Kuranui College. Further education, marriage and children followed, and the pair began dabbling in buying kitset homes from the then Wellington based A1homes. They quickly saw great potential in Wairarapa and when offered the Wairarapa franchise, they eagerly purchased it. They have never regretted their decision. The burgeoning interest in Wairarapa has taken the local building industry by storm. Paul estimates A1’s clients are 50 per cent from within Wairarapa and the other half from outside - mainly Wellington.

These days Paul has stepped back from the day-to-day running of the business - handing the reins to Tim Fenwick, however he remains immersed in the construction industry via Master Builders, development interests and a passion to support local. His teaching and mentoring skills come in handy too.

Being of Ngāti Kahungunu descent, Paul is especially keen to encourage Māori and Pasifi ka into the building trade and even into owning their own business. He proudly reels off a few names of local businesses who are now working in the construction industry.

Paul regularly speaks to senior school students heralding the value of learning a trade. He is particularly proud in the growth of women in the industry. Paul heads the Wairarapa Māori Business Network sharing “I’ve always been about life-long learning, striving to better ourselves and supporting each other. If this type of network had been around when Jeanette and I were starting out, it would have been hugely helpful.”

Tim Fenwick

Tim is A1 Wairarapa’s General Manager. Tim’s been with A1 for over four years and oversees the day-to-day running of the busy company. Good communication and relationshipbuilding are keys to a successful business, Tim believes. “Every person has different wants, needs, budgets and life-stages. It’s so important we listen to this.” Tim adds that the nature of his work has become more complicated since Covid-19 and the shortages in tradespeople and supplies are starting to bite. He estimates A1 has doubled its workload in the past year and it’s a juggling act to satisfy clients, contractors, and suppliers in the current climate.

Born and raised in Greytown, Tim qualifi ed as a carpenter with Holmes Construction before heading overseas in 1999. Returning to Greytown from Melbourne with wife, Erin and two sons, he was thrilled to land the role with A1 where his construction and management background has come together and been a huge asset to the tight-knit team.

Paul Marlow

Paul has been with A1homes for 16 years with franchises in different parts of New Zealand. Originally, starting at A1homes Waikanae and then moving to A1’s Head Offi ce in Tauranga to reestablish the franchise there. Paul has known Paul Southey for twenty odd years and has been working with the team at the Wairarapa branch of A1 for the past six years.

Paul is part of the sales team, and he specialises in helping clients develop plans as well as supporting the team with his strong industry knowledge and solutions. Paul believes that what makes A1homes stand out in the home building trade is its care of people and he has always been impressed with how important this is to the company.

Anthony Murray

Anthony is the newest team member and will offi cially start with A1 in early November. Anthony along with his wife Casey and three young daughters moved to Wairarapa from Auckland in early 2020 seeking a more familyfocussed way of life. As a qualifi ed boat builder, Anthony has spent many years on the tools and the move to Masterton presented an opportunity for a career change into residential and commercial construction. He is not far off completing a Bachelor of Construction majoring in Construction Economics – knowledge that will be a fantastic addition to the business.

Anthony adds “What attracted me to A1 was the tight knit team and family orientated business that has a commitment to developing strong processes and systems so as to deliver the best value to our customers”.