19/09/2026
We’re Tarah & Adam creators behind Activates Construction - Tarah & Adam Hastie and for more than 20 years we’ve been designing, building and developing homes in Brisbane’s inner north.
If there’s one thing experience has taught us, it’s that the true cost of a new home isn’t simply the land + the construction contract.
It’s also time, risk and uncertainty.
Construction costs continue to rise. Skilled trades remain difficult to secure. Build times are significant, and Brisbane is heading towards an extraordinary period of construction and infrastructure investment as we approach 2032.
Then there are the things that are much harder to put a number against…
•Finding the right site
•Designing a home properly for it
•Council and approvals
•Selecting a builder you trust
•Making hundreds of design decisions
•Managing budgets and variations.
…Waiting to see whether what looked good on paper actually works when it is built
That is where we think the value of a completed home is often misunderstood.
When you buy an Activates home, you can see exactly what you’re buying. You can walk through it, feel the proportions, See the natural light, Open the cabinetry, Look at the detailing, Understand the materials, See how the home has actually been put together.
There’s no render.
No construction estimate.
No provisional idea of what something might become.
It’s already here.
We’ve now built more than 80 homes, and remarkably few Activates homes have ever returned to the market.
We’re particularly proud of that.
Ultimately, our job isn’t to build a house someone wants to buy…It’s to build a home they don’t want to sell.
In a market where there are plenty of unknowns, we think there is considerable value in knowing exactly what you’re getting.
All homes on this page are designed & built by Activates Construction - Tarah & Adam Hastie
Image by F O T O F O X Photography
