To hear Matt Oliver tell it, succeeding in the custom home business is no big thing. “If you keep your nose clean and don't spend more than you make, it works out,” says the Austin, Texas, builder. But Oliver gives himself—and his partner and brother, Paul—too little credit. The story of their careers is marked less by lucky breaks than by a keen instinct for making the right move.
The brothers built their first two houses for other members of their family, setting a tone that their business has followed ever since. “It all comes back to building the client's home as if it were our home,” Matt says. The Olivers dabbled in spec building but recognized early on that “you're just paying Realtors at the end of the day.” Their first high-end custom project put an end to that. “We could see that if someone was paying $70,000-plus for a set of plans,” Matt says, “they had the money to build a house.”
In 1996 , the Olivers encountered Barley & Pfeiffer Architects, and they have worked with the Austin firm virtually without a break ever since. “If I feel we're running slow, I just call Peter [Pfeiffer] and say, ‘Man, I need more work,'” Matt says. The firm's reputation as a local pioneer in sustainable design made it a natural match for the Olivers, he continues. “Even on the spec side, we'd explored all the green building features.” As clients become better versed in building science, that depth of knowledge is a distinct advantage in the market.
Perhaps the brothers' best move, however, was going into business together. Unlike most partners, Paul and Matt share both field and office duties, an arrangement that permits an unusual degree of freedom. They and their father recently built a single-engine airplane in their spare time. Paul visited Germany for the World Cup. Matt enjoys surfing in Indonesia. “We intentionally make that time," Matt explains. "Life's too short to run after money.” And how has that laid-back attitude played in the current downturn? “We've been busier than at any time in our 25 years of business,” he says.
Oliver Custom Homes, Austin, Texas
www.olivercustomhomes.com
Type of business: Custom builder
Years in business: 25
Employees: 5
2009 volume: $3 million
2009 starts: 2 custom homes, 3 remodels
