Custom Home Builders
The Hills

Yes. Marvel Homes builds across The Hills Shire Council area, including Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Kellyville, Rouse Hill, Bella Vista, Norwest, and Glenhaven. The Hills District has a strong mix of established suburbs with KDR opportunities and newer estates where quality-conscious owners want to build better than the standard project home. We handle the full project from feasibility and approvals through to passive house construction and certification.

Not everywhere. Large parts of Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills and Kellyville sit on generous, gently graded blocks, but toward Glenhaven, Dural and the escarpment edges of the Shire, real grade change is common. The advantage in The Hills is that the blocks are usually bigger than the Inner West or North Shore equivalent, so there is more room to work with a slope: a split-level design, a cut-and-fill platform, or a stepped form, without being boxed in by a narrow frontage. Our split level home builder page covers how we detail the set-down and airtightness across levels.

The Hills District experiences some of Sydney's most extreme temperature variation: hot summers with temperatures regularly above 35 degrees, and cold winter mornings in the five to ten degree range. A passive house in Castle Hill or Kellyville maintains a steady 20 to 25°C year-round through its insulated, airtight envelope, so it holds that temperature on far less heating and cooling than a home this size would normally require, with a substantial reduction in ongoing energy bills. Families in The Hills typically have larger homes and larger energy bills. Passive house solves both problems.

Yes. The older areas of Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, and parts of Kellyville have a well-established KDR market. Properties built in the 1970s to 1990s on generous blocks are being replaced with high-quality custom homes by owners who want to stay in the area but outgrow the existing dwelling. The larger blocks common in The Hills make passive house design particularly effective: there is more freedom in orientation, plan configuration, and the placement of north-facing glazing.

Many Hills Shire sites are CDC-eligible under the Housing SEPP, allowing approval through a private certifier without council notification. This is the faster and more predictable path for straightforward new homes. Sites that do not meet CDC standards, or sites in areas with heritage listings or significant tree constraints, require a DA. Marvel Homes confirms the correct approval pathway at the site investigation stage for every Hills Shire project.

Yes, with some planning. Master-planned estates in The Hills often have design guidelines or restrictive covenants imposed by the original developer that govern the appearance of homes. These guidelines typically address external materials, roof pitch, and street presentation. A passive house can meet these guidelines while still incorporating the thermal envelope, double-glazed windows, and airtight construction that PHI certification requires. Marvel Homes reviews the relevant design guidelines at the site investigation stage.