For some time before Hunter Valley developer Clint McRae visited The Smarter Small Home, he’d been developing his own affordable two-bedroom product.

"We market to the sub-$300,000 market, so we’d had an idea some time ago to build a product for $199,000 that everyone could afford. These days it’s difficult – for our children anyway – to buy in areas that we all grew up in," he says.

McRae says that across the project marketers Hunta Corp works with, no-one was offering product at that price point.

"The sustainability and the viability of The Smarter Small Home are really attractive – but it’s a three-bedroom version of something I’ve been working on for some time. [When we saw it] we had a real ‘aha’ moment. Someone’s taken it a step further, which is great."

The first Hunta Corp development to feature The Smarter Small Home is Harmony in Cessnock. Fourteen detached dwellings include six of which are the same as The Smarter Small Home and eight of which have been modified to a two-bedroom version. The homes will sell from $239,000.

Surrounding the development are predominantly weatherboard homes. However, during McRae’s community consultation, some people expressed an initial preference for brick and tile.

"One mother told us we should build bricks and mortar. I told her that’s a hangover from years gone by and that building in lightweight material is a positive, not a negative," McRae says. "Once people’s eyes are opened to the sustainability [aspects] and cost-effectiveness, they tend to grasp it and run with it."

Following its exposure to The Smarter Small Home, Hunta Corp has made a decision to move solely to lightweight construction.

"Carpenters can build the whole house instead of us being held to ransom by the masonry trades, and I like it because it’s predictable and cost- and time-efficient. It all means we can do more developments each year without taking on additional cost," McRae says.

Lightweight construction developments have been made possible by products such as Scyon, a lightweight cement composite with heavy-duty performance.

Scyon was created with ease of installation in mind and can be installed by a carpenter and cuts the number of trades required on site, saving both time and money. Scyon is made from benign raw materials low in toxicity and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and is resistant to damage from termites, rot and fire.