Built for Good

Farmers could walk away from this year’s Southern Field Days with more than ideas and contacts - they could come away with a brand-new home, with every dollar raised supporting rural wellbeing.

For Adam Newton from Adam Newton Homes, taking a home to the Southern Field Days isn’t new. But deciding to auction one - and donate the proceeds - was a step further.

“This is the second year we’ve taken a house out there,” says Newton. “We tossed up whether we raffled a house or auctioned one, and it just came back to wanting to support a local charity that does real work in the region where a lot of our clients are based.”

That led naturally to the Southland Rural Support Trust.

“It was a pretty organic fit,” he says. “They were more than happy to come on board, and it just made sense.”

Built below cost, backed by the community

The home - a high-spec, four-bedroom transportable build - is being delivered well below standard commercial cost, with suppliers and subcontractors across Southland stepping up to support the project.

“We’re providing the home substantially below cost,” Newton explains. “Pretty much all our suppliers and subcontractors have either absorbed costs themselves or gone back to their suppliers for discounts.”

Adam Newton Homes has also removed its usual margin.

“As long as it sells somewhere around what it would normally retail for, we should be able to write a fairly sizeable cheque to the Rural Support Trust,” he says.

While the final valuation is still being confirmed, Newton is confident.

“I’d be disappointed if it didn’t start with a six,” he says. “It’s quite a fancy home, and we’ve added a bit of extra value into it.”

Designed to go almost anywhere

The home has been designed with flexibility firmly in mind - something Newton says reflects how rural buyers are thinking.

“It’s a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, but we’ve gone for a bit of a holiday or beach house vibe,” he says. “It could go pretty much anywhere in New Zealand, within reason.”

That includes high wind zones, higher snow loading, and coastal environments.

“We’ve beefed up the windows, roofing and specifications so it can be placed close to the coast - up to about 100 metres from the beach,” he says. “It opens up a pretty wide range of sites.”

Transportable builds now make up around 20 percent of the business, alongside traditional onsite builds.

“It’s something we diversified into three or four years ago,” Newton says. “When we took a house to Field Days last time, it was incredibly well received. We probably had five or six thousand people through it over the three days.”

For Adam Newton, auctioning off one of the company’s transportable home is a win-win for both his business, and the Southland Rural Support Trust. Supplied.

Not just staff housing

While transportable homes are often associated with farm staff accommodation, Newton says the appeal is far broader.

“It could work as staff housing, but also for tourism, lifestyle blocks, or even a manager’s house,” he says. “We’ve added a covered outdoor courtyard with a gas fire -something new for us - and it really adds to that holiday-home feel.”

“It wouldn’t feel out of place in a lot of settings.”

Newton is upfront about the fact that the project benefits his business too - but says that doesn’t diminish its value.

“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword,” he says. “We get a lot of exposure out of it, which is great, but we were going to take a house to Field Days anyway. This just turns it into a win–win.”

More importantly, he says, it puts something tangible back into the rural sector.

“The Trust does an incredible job, and recent events really underline how important that support is,” he says.

Confidence returning

Despite ongoing challenges in the building sector,Newton says enquiry is starting to lift - particularly in rural areas.

“We’ve probably bucked the trend a little bit because of diversifying into transportables and positioning ourselves at the higher end,” he says. “We didn’t want to compete purely on price.”

“There’s been a noticeable lift lately. More enquiries, more of the smaller jobs coming through - kitchens, bathrooms. When people start spending at that level, it’s usually a sign that confidence is coming back.”

On show - and up for auction

The home will be on display at Southern Field Days before being auctioned on site - a logistics exercise Newton admits is no small feat.

“It’s a big home to take out there - around 160 square metres,” he says. “The last one we took was 95, so this is a step up.”

“But it’s also a great way to show people what’s possible.”

AUCTION DETAILS

What: Architecturally designed transportable home auction

When: Thursday, 12 February 2026, 11.30am

Where: Southern Field Days, Waimumu

Site: 447

Auctioneer: Country & Co Realty

Built by: Adam Newton Homes

Proceeds: Donated to the Southland Rural Support Trust