Resources · Projects
Development fundamentals
A development is not a block of land with a hopeful margin attached. The site, the build, the finance and the exit have to hold together before anyone commits.
01 · Land and a build are one project
A site without a realistic build, and a build without the right site, are not a strategy. We look at location fundamentals, planning, construction and the way value is realised, together, before a client commits.
02 · Feasibility is a set of costs
Purchase price, duty and acquisition costs, construction, consultants, finance, holding costs, GST where it applies, and a contingency all belong in the same model. Then a resale or refinance assumption that is supported by evidence, not by the most optimistic comparable.
If the margin only exists when everything goes right, it is not a margin we would rely on.
03 · Zoning is not an approval
Overlays, neighbours, services, access and design constraints decide what can actually be built. A concept plan is not a permit. Time spent assuming an approval is part of the risk, and it should be visible in the feasibility.
04 · The builder is part of the underwriting
Price, scope, program, inclusions and the builder’s capacity to deliver that scope all belong in the assessment. A low quote that does not match the intended outcome is not a saving.
We would rather identify a builder who understands the brief than force a number that the project cannot be built for.
05 · Finance arrives in stages
Land finance and construction finance are different facilities, often with different equity requirements. Interest is a holding cost. Delays are a cost. The feasibility should survive a longer program than the one in the brochure.
06 · The exit needs a real buyer
Who buys the finished dwellings, at what price, and against what other new stock? Equity created on paper still has to be realised by a sale, a refinance, or a hold that the cash flow supports.
A project in a market without depth at the end is a project that can trap capital.
07 · When the right decision is to stop
If the site, the build and the figures cannot be brought into one coherent pathway, the useful outcome is not to proceed. A development should be chosen because the evidence holds together, not because a project has already been imagined.
This is general information about how we approach the work. It is not financial, tax, credit or legal advice. Read the disclaimer, or start a conversation if you want to talk through your own position.