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Prefabricated housing responds to shifting expectations and affordability pressures.
For more than 30 years, Todd Devine Homes has played a steady and recognisable role in Victoria’s prefabricated housing market. What began as a practical response to regional demand has matured into a business defined by disciplined manufacturing, long-term partnerships and a commitment to consistent delivery. In conversation with Built Offsite publisher Michael Dolphin, General Manager Wayne Walsh reflected on the company’s origins, how its construction philosophy has evolved, and why prefabricated homes continue to find relevance across Victoria. (main image: Installation of a Todd Devine Home in San Remo, Victoria.)
The story starts with a simple favour that redirected a career. As Walsh explained, the company’s founder, Todd Devine, was a chippy by trade “and was running a small framing business. He was asked to build a transportable home, and that was the starting point for his move into transportable homes.” That early commission set the tone for a business that would grow steadily alongside a shifting regional housing landscape.
Initial projects centred on cabin-style dwellings for caravan parks and the emerging land-lease sector. These markets were beginning to explore building solutions beyond conventional methods, particularly for older homeowners seeking manageable, compact homes with predictable delivery. Walsh noted that modular thinking took hold more than 15 years ago, long before it gained the broader attention it has today. Early projects in Warragul demonstrated the appetite for alternatives, and the company committed fully. “We committed to offsite from day one because Todd recognised a strong niche in the market,” Walsh said.
Today the company delivers a wide range of prefabricated options, including transportable homes, modular small second dwellings (granny flats), relocatable units and tourist accommodation. Although the product mix has expanded considerably, each line is still anchored by a facility-first approach that aims to provide certainty around time, quality and cost.
The evolution of modular construction at Todd Devine Homes
The earliest prefabricated homes produced by the business were single-wide units designed to travel on the back of a truck. “We started as a single-wide product, something that could fit on the back of a truck,” Walsh said. The dimensional constraints of transport effectively set the limits of design, and the business refined a product suited to simple, compact living.
As homebuyers began seeking more generous living areas and functional layouts, the company expanded into multi-module construction. Double-wide homes provided an immediate step-up in internal space, followed by larger homes configured around steel chassis systems and cranage requirements. Height limits, access conditions and transport restrictions remain part of the design equation, but the company has learned how to work within those limits.
Timber wall frames remain fully sheet-braced for transport, and a range of lightweight cladding systems is used to suit transport and installation conditions. While the basic build method has remained stable, the scale and diversity of homes have expanded considerably. Walsh noted that demand now spans “three- and four-bedroom homes, holiday homes and a wider mix of dwellings for different living needs.”
The company uses a hybrid delivery model depending on site conditions. Confined suburban blocks or backyards often require panelised delivery, with floors, walls and trusses manufactured in Todd Devine Homes Construction Facility in Lang Lang and assembled onsite. “If you take the land-lease model out of it, it would be about 60-40 now,” Walsh said. Even in these hybrid builds, the company maintains tight build times due to manufacturing workflows and a procurement strategy that prioritises consistency.
A clearer mindset for a shifting market
In recent years, Todd Devine Homes has focused on sharpening its identity and refining the way it communicates value to the market. The shift wasn’t about repositioning the business, but about providing greater clarity — both internally and externally — around how the company operates.
“Our goal was to bring more clarity to the way we work,” Walsh said. “Our buying power delivers genuine savings for clients, and we forecast our workload 12 months ahead to ensure strong alignment with our suppliers.”
According to Walsh, the results have been immediate. Monthly enquiries increased significantly following updates to the product range and marketing approach, driven by a combination of affordability pressures, evolving buyer expectations, and renewed interest in secondary dwellings. Caravan parks, land lease communities and private clients now contribute to a diverse and consistent pipeline of demand.
The ability to effectively support both private homeowners and commercial partners has become a defining strength. “We’ve managed to grow in both areas, and the way we’ve set up the business means we can service both really easily,” Walsh said.
While the company’s expertise in land lease communities remains a major pillar, growth across regional and coastal parks — along with increased interest from private homeowners — has broadened the business’s reach and reinforced its adaptability in a shifting housing landscape.
Future direction and opportunities in prefabricated homes
Although the company has explored opportunities in commercial prefabrication, it remains focused on the markets that align with its established manufacturing strengths. “We looked at it,” Walsh said. “But we want to focus on producing a really good product at a really good price for clients.”
Improvements in manufacturing workflow and digital capability continue to guide the company’s direction. The business is adopting more digital solutions to improve quoting, communication and overall administrative workflow. Automation inside the facility remains a longer-term possibility rather than an immediate goal, tied to pipeline consistency and capital planning.
Walsh expects prefabricated homes to maintain a growing role in Victoria’s market, particularly as labour shortages and training gaps continue to affect traditional construction. “Labour is hard to get. Apprentices are hard to get,” he said. This pressure, combined with demand for predictable delivery and cost clarity, suggests modular and transportable homes will continue to appeal to both private and commercial customers.
Todd Devine Homes continues to refine its products and approach, drawing on more than three decades of accumulated experience while responding to the ongoing shift toward facility-built housing in Victoria.
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