About Homes by Nest
A small, personal building company with rural roots – run from the farm in Karaka by Bru and Linda Goldfinch.
The Team Behind Every Build
We’re Bru and Linda Goldfinch – husband-and-wife team who built and run Homes By Nest from our farm in Karaka.
Both of us grew up on farms. We’ve spent most of our lives in rural settings, and we still farm our land in Karaka today. Farm life shapes a lot – the pace of it, the work ethic, the value of treating people the way you’d want to be treated. All of that runs through how we built and run Homes By Nest.
I’m the builder – 19 years in the industry, starting out as a New Home Consultant with various building companies across Papakura, Franklin, and Christchurch. Over those years, I got to know the build process from the inside and built up a network of tradespeople and suppliers across South Auckland that we still work with today.
Linda runs the business alongside me, bringing her design eye, and works with Helen at Picturebook Interiors for the interior and colour side of every build.
A few years ago, we were offered the chance to buy a building company franchise in Christchurch. We thought about it carefully – it was a real opportunity. But the more we sat with it, the clearer it became that we didn’t want to run someone else’s business model in someone else’s town. We wanted something built for the area we know, the people we know, and the way we believe a small builder should operate
So, we started Homes By Nest in Karaka – and we’ve been here every since.
Good Homes Start with Good People
A home only ever turns out as well as the people who build it. This is the most important thing I’ve learned in 19 years in the industry. The carpenters, plumbers, electricians, brickies, roofers, and everyone in between – they’re the ones whose work you live in every day.
Treat them well, pay them what they ask for, give them the time and the trust to do the job properly, and the home that is produced is a different kind of home altogether.
That’s how we run Homes By Nest. The team we work with is small, well-paid, and largely the same crew I’ve been working with for years – most of whom we now consider good friends. They know our standards, we know theirs, and the result on site is a build that feels like the team wants to be there.
It also means there’s no churn between trades, no chasing people for quotes, no being told something can’t be done because no one wants to do it. The team’s invested – including our partners at Heritage Timbercraft in Hawke’s Bay, who craft the timber for every barn home we build.
That investment shows up in the home that gets built, in ways you might not always be able to point to, but you’ll feel as soon as you walk in the door.
What We Stand For
Three things sit at the heart of what we do, and they’ve been the same since the day we started.
Premium Service
We don’t compete on price, and we don’t take shortcuts. Every home we put up is built to a standard we’d be happy to live in ourselves.
Personalised Solutions
Every family is different, every section is different, and every build should reflect that. We don’t slot you into a process – we shape the build around what works for you.
Fair Pricing
A deal that works for everyone – for you, for us, for the trades on site. We’d rather quote what a build will actually cost than win a job and ask for more later.
The name Homes By Nest comes from us. Goldfinch is our family name, and the logo – a goldfinch with three fledglings in a nest – speaks to what we believe a home should be. A nest holds a family. It’s where they’re safe, where they grow, and where they come back to. Family is central to who we are, and it’s central to every home we build, whether it’s for a family of two or a family of seven.
Want to Talk About Building?
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve got a sense of who we are and how we work. The next step is the same as it is for every project we take on – pick up the phone or send a message. We’ll talk through what you’re after, the section you’ve got in mind (if you’ve got one), and where to go from there.