How to get started in
PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
by Michael Yardney
How smart investors are growing their
wealth quickly and safely by building
their properties at “cost price.”
About the author
Michael Yardney is one of Australia’s leading
authorities in wealth creation through property. He
was once again recently voted Australia’s leading
property investment adviser and is Australia’s
most published property author who has probably
educated more successful property investors than
anyone else in Australia. But he is not a theorist...
Michael is a successful property investor and
developer and, as a director of Metropole Property
Strategists, his opinions as a property expert are
highly sought after and frequently quoted in the
media.
Michael’s “Property Update” blog has over 100,000
subscribers and he has been quoted in all major
Australian daily newspapers and financial magazines
and regularly gives his views on wealth creation and
the property markets on the radio. He is also a regular keynote speaker at property conferences in
Australia and South East Asia.
Michael bought his first investment property over 40 years ago, in his early 20’s, without a deposit
and not understanding the rules of the game. He then went on to build a multi-million dollar
property investment portfolio in his spare time. In 1979 he established Metropole Properties, which
has become one of Australia’s leading firms of independent property investment strategists with
offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Over the years the multi award winning team at Metropole has bought, financed, advised, invested
in, built and project managed over 2 Billion dollars worth of property transactions creating wealth
for their clients
Michael Yardney has been featured in:
How to get started in Property Development 2
Have you thought about becoming a Property Developer?
Many investors have become wealthy through property investment, very wealthy. But
the real profits in the property market are at the wholesale end of the market. In property
development.
In this report I want to examine the segment of the property market that has benefited me the most
over the last 30 years or so– property development.
So what exactly is property development?
Let’s start with the following definition…
Property development is the continual reconfiguration of the built environment to meet
society’s needs.
New apartments, townhouses, road, sewers,
houses, office buildings and shopping
complexes don’t just happen. Somebody
must motivate and manage the creation, the
maintenance and then the eventual recreation
of the spaces in which we live, work and play.
The need for development is constant because
populations, technology and our tastes never
stop changing.
While renovations and refurbishment are
definitely a form of property development, in
this report I am going to concentrate on the
development of new residential dwellings –
duplexes, townhouses and apartments.
To me property development is an extremely
creative process and property developers are
creators. They take a project from the conception of an idea in their mind through the design and
approval phase, financing, construction and then eventually the leasing or sale of the project
Successful property developers are a bit like movie producers. They assemble a highly talented
team of people and skillfully lead them to develop a profitable outcome.
Developers need to be proactive and make things happen. They must also be creative, flexible
and adaptive to take their project through this maze.
How to get started in Property Development 3
The Players in the Property Market
When we have a look at who is involved in the residential market in Australia they tend to fall into
one of 3 categories:
1. Owner-occupiers - who tend to buy properties with their heart, and will often pay a little bit
more than the market price to buy the right property.
2. Investors - who tend to buy properties with their calculators based on return. They also
tend to pay full retail value for properties; unless they have learned some of the lessons I
have described in my books on property investment. In fact many investors pay above market
price for their properties against their knowledge. This particularly happens when they buy
new apartments or house and land packages from developers and this occurs because the
developers set the prices based on the highest profit margins they can achieve considering
prevailing property market conditions. I see this a lot with investors buying ‘off the plan.’ Rather
than buying at a discount like they hoped, many purchasers of ‘off the plan’ properties have
found that when they eventually come to settle their properties, the valuation is considerably
lower than the price they paid.
3. Property Developers - who buy a property shrewdly, add value and on sell and refinance
to make a profit. In essence they “manufacture” properties and manufacture or create capital
growth.
Until recently property development area was the domain of property developers and the very rich.
Over the last few years a new breed of property players has come into the market. I call them
“armchair developers”. This a term I coined in the year 2000 and relates to clients of Metropole
who are, or want to be, high net worth property investors and use Metropole’s development
management services to allow them to become property developers.
You see…Metropole handles the whole property development process for them, from concept to
completion allowing them to become property developers without ‘lifting a finger.’
Let’s look at the different options available if you want to get in residential property development…
How to get started in Property Development 4
Your Options as a Property Developer
If you want to become involved in residential property development, there are a number of options
open to you.
1. You could renovate a property to add value. Many of today’s large property developers
started out doing renovations. My first steps into property development were through
renovations. I know many beginning developers would like to sell their property after the
renovations, but I recommend you refinance your property and take advantage of the extra
equity your “manufactured” or created.
2. You could land bank. This is a concept used by large property developers who buy large
tracts of raw undeveloped land, sometimes called Greenfield sites and keep their own ‘bank’
of land for future development. You could do similar things as a smaller scale developer. For
example, you could buy an old house at close to land value. The block of land should be of
sufficient size to have future development potential. This is a great investment strategy because
the land component of your property increases in value. And down the track, when you have
more funds, or the market conditions are right, you could proceed to develop your property into
a duplex or town house complex or whatever.
3. You could buy a property and add value by getting development approval (D.A.) to build
new dwellings such as a duplex or units, or townhouses or apartments. By utilizing the land for
its highest and best use you are adding considerable value. You then have two options…
a. You could sell the property with development approval (DA) or plans and permits (as it is
called in Victoria) to a builder or developer. They will often pay you considerably more than
your cost because you have now taken an element of the development risk out of the project;
they no longer have to be bothered with the maze of the council town planning process. Or….
b. You could proceed with the development
project yourself and make the developer profit.
4. If you are prepared to pay a premium, but
want to by pass the risk of the development
approval process, you could buy land with
a development approval (DA) in place and
proceed with building the project.
5. If you feel uncomfortable doing it on your
own, you could become a property developer
using Metropole’s Property Developer
Program, where Metropole co-ordinates the
whole project for you. You can find out more
details at www.metropole.com.au
How to get started in Property Development 5
The benefits of becoming a Property Developer.
Let’s explore a range of benefits that may be possible if you get involved in property development,
but then we will balance this out with some potential risks.
As I see it some of the benefits of becoming a developer include:
1. Savings: rather than buying properties at retail, when you become a property developer you
can acquire your investments at 15% below their market cost. This is because you don’t pay
the developer’s margin (which is yours to keep), agent’s commission, GST, marketing and other
costs usually included in the price of buying real estate.
2. Profits: at the right time of the property cycle you can make good profits selling your
development projects. While that’s what most developers do, the really smart ones don’t sell
their projects. They refinance them against their new higher value and take out the extra equity
that they have manufactured by developing property and use it as seed capital for their next
project.
3. Easier finance: once you have completed your development project you can approach
lenders to refinance your properties. They will usually lend you 80% or more of their retail value
when completed. In many instances this is about what it has cost you to develop your project
and you can take out your initial equity. In other words it’s a bit like borrowing 100% of the cost
of the property or having “nothing down.”
4. Leverage following on from the previous point, you get massive leverage when you have
completed your development project. Often you control a substantial property or even 2 or 3
townhouses with little of your own money in the properties as equity.
5. Tax benefits: owning new properties gives you all the benefits of depreciation allowances
giving you a great “after tax” return.
6. Higher rental return: your tenants will pay the prevailing market rents. They won’t know that
the cost of your property was substantially below the retail price. This means your rental yields
will be higher than for someone who bought their property at market value.
7. Security: if undertaken correctly, property development can be very lucrative. If you buy your
development site well, your investment will always be underpinned by the security of real estate
in a prime position.
All these benefits add up allowing you to grow your property portfolio faster and safer than
most investors.
They allow you to be the owner of high growth properties that are cheap to own, because you get
great rental returns and big tax benefits. This is of course why I use this method of investment
personally to make fantastic returns.
How to get started in Property Development 6
Why now is a good time to develop property.
The current property markets offer some of the best development opportunities I have seen in
a long time. The Australian economic cycle is moving forward as is the property cycle. We are
experiencing strong population growth, but have a shortage of the right type of dwelling stock for
new homeowners, existing homeowners wishing to upgrade and for investors.
And this undersupply is likely to be with us for a few years.
I’ve been involved in developing property since the mid 1980’s– that’s about four complete
property cycles. Each stage of the property cycle has its own quirks to deal with but this stage
of the cycle, the upturn stage of the next property cycle offers some amazing development
opportunities if you know where to look.
Unfortunately there are also risks associated with this (and in act every stage) of the property
cycle, so let’s examine the risks of property development…
Contact Metropole to find out how you can get started in Property Development
Please call us on 1300 20 30 30 | www.metropole.com.au
How to get started in Property Development 7
The Risks of Property Development
I make it sound so easy – there must be a catch and there is. Over the years I have seen many
inexperienced property developers and quite a few that I thought were smarter than me go broke.
If it is your intention to become involved in property development you need to realize that there
are potential risks. Successful development is simply a matter of understanding the risks… and
managing them. So what are the types of risks involved in property development?
Some of the significant risks I have come across include:
1. A downturn in the property market leading to
lower property values or increased holding costs
until the development properties are sold.
2. Finance Risks: Undercapitalization – not
having enough spare cash or financial buffers
to cope with interest rates rising during the
development resulting in increased holding
expenses and therefore lower profits.
3. Increases in construction costs during the
project. This was particularly obvious during the
last property boom. I know of a number of inexperienced developers who thought that they
entered into a fixed price contract yet were hit with cost variations.
4. Changes in the supply & demand ratio for real estate market as we are currently seeing
in the inner city apartment market. This of course depresses property values and reduces your
projected profit margin.
5. Unexpected disputes with building or trade contractors or unions, which can cause costly
delays to a project.
6. Changes to the laws relating to property development could adversely affect the profitability
and viability of your development project. Things like the laws relating to zoning and town
planning restrictions on land use, environmental controls, landlord and tenancy controls, user
restrictions, stamp duty, land tax, income taxation and capital gains tax.
7. Unexpected delays and increased holding costs may be encountered when town-planning
(DA) approval is required for a development. Councils are currently very slow in assessing
development applications and they reject many development / town planning applications. Not
obtaining an approval or obtaining one on unfavorable terms is a growing risk for developers.
The cost of obtaining approval or fighting council’s rejection in a court of appeal is continually
rising. And….
8. Some inexperienced developers find that some of the improvements they have made to their
properties do not result in an increase in value. They learn the hard way that increases in
value do not necessarily occur in line with expenditure on improvements if they overcapitalize.
How to get started in Property Development 8
Many of these mistakes occur because of the inexperience of the developer or their failure to
engage a professional project manager. As you can see many of these risks are outside the
control of the developer. I know, because over the years I’ve developed dozens of my own project
and at Metropole we act as project managers for many clients. We are currently involved in over
70 residential development projects in Melbourne & Brisbane.
We are aware of the risks involved in a development project and this helps us minimize them so
that our clients do not get any unpleasant surprises. Our projects are very successful, and over the
years I have made good profits out of property development, as have many of our clients.
But I have to be honest and admit that we occasionally run into some of the above challenges in of
our projects. We must learn from all our developments. Learn what went wrong and minimize the
risks of this occurring again and learn from what went right and repeat this if possible.
Engaging a professional project manager, especially on the first one or two projects, should
minimize your risks and may positively affect your ability to borrow development funds, as the
banks will have a sense of comfort when you have a professional on your side.
So what is involved in a property development? What actually happens?
Let’s look at the stages of a typical property development project...
An example of a 2 townhouse development in Richmond Victoria, undertaken by a client of Metropole
How to get started in Property Development 9
The Stages of a Property Development
Developers follow a sequence of steps from the moment they first conceive a project to the
time they complete the physical construction and begin ongoing asset management. While the
sequence may vary slightly, usually the development is broken up into the following elements:
• Coming up with the idea • Making a formal commitment
• Refining it • Constructing the project
• Testing its feasibility • Completing the project and finally
• Negotiating contracts • Managing the new project.
As the developer, you should have an exit strategy at each of these stages. To protect yourself
you must always have the option to either to continue with the project develop or have a back up
strategy.
I have made property development sound exciting and profitable, and it can be, but it is important for
you to understand that the development process is hardly straightforward. Let’s look at the stages of
the development of a new duplex, multi unit townhouse or apartment project in more detail.
1. Pre Purchase
Here you look for a block of land with development potential. Either to renovate the property and
add value or to get a development approval / planning permit to construct multiple dwellings.
At this stage you should already have your finance in place so that you can know your limits.
You should also have a team of consultants who can advise you as to the project’s viability.
These should include a development manager who can coordinate the whole process or
individually - a solicitor, an architect, a surveyor, a town planner and estate agent (to advise
honestly on end values and marketability).
2. Concept stage
Once you find a potential site you must come up with a concept for it. What can you put on it?
How many units? How big? What restrictions are there?
To find out what can be built on the land you next assess the local council’s policy towards
development and see how many new units/townhouses can be put on the block.
I tend to have these documents in our office, but they are generally available over the internet
at the local council’s web site, or in hard copy form from the counter at the town-planning
department. You must understand the local council’s requirements for minimum lot sizes for a
development and their regulations regarding setbacks from the front, for private open spaces
and for car parking.
How to get started in Property Development 10
I would also do a detailed analysis of the neighbourhood character as an important
consideration of town planning is keeping the neighbourhood character. It is important to assess
what the market wants in that area and what would sell or lease well. It is important to design
and build something that is marketable.
I then put pen to paper and do some sketches allowing for setbacks, driveways, private open
space (what you may call a back yard) as required by council. Ideally private open spaces
should be north facing to maximize their exposure to the sun and these areas often have other
restrictions on them regarding their configuration.
I then place garages and parking spaces and leave room for turning circles to drive out in a
forward motion as required by council. The amount of land that is left over after all of this will
determine how many dwellings and of what size can fit on the block.
After taking into account all the above factors, typically the footprint of the dwellings we can
build would take up less than 50% of the land. At this concept stage I would also take into
account potential objections from neighbours. In some municipalities you can always count on
the neighbours objecting about new development projects and if possible I steer clear of these
suburbs.
After all this I finally do some number crunching in my feasibility program. I include time scales,
all costs including consultants and construction costs. I include likely end sale values and the
profit margin that I want and this allows me to work backwards to find out what the land is worth
to me. The maximum price I could pay and still make a decent profit.
If after all this the project is still viable I would consider putting in an offer for the land.
3. Purchase
Now we reach the exciting part – buying the
land at a price that would allow me to make
a commercial profit using the figures in my
feasibility study.
4. Town planning
I now brief my architect to draw up plans
that comply with the council’s development
guidelines. I usually involve a surveyor to
measure up the land and a town planner
to help drive the project through the
development approval process. Due to the
increasing complexity of the town planning process, this stage of the development can take up
between 6 and 12 months before you achieve development approval.
How to get started in Property Development 11
5. Working Drawing and documentation
Once the Development Approval (permit) has been achieved our architect and our engineers
document the working drawings to allow us to get a building permit (also called a Construction
Certificate (CC). This stage could take 3 - 4 months.
6. Pre Construction Stage
At this stage we obtain quotes from builders and bank approval for the development loan.
7. Construction
Finally we get on site to build our project, paying the builder progressively at the completion of
each stage using draw downs from our bank loan. This stage can last 6 – 12 months depending
on the size of the project.
8. Completion
The project is leased or sold.
As you can see the development process for a new multi unit project is a long one – it can easily
take 2 years from beginning to end.
How to get started in Property Development 12
The Biggest Mistakes Made by First Time Developers
Unfortunately the development process is complicated and I have seen many smart investors turn
their hands to property development and lose money. The common reasons this occurs:
1. No Strategy or Planning. Some new developers just go out and buy what they think is a
development site. Often they just believe the selling agent and haven’t done their own market
research
2. They paid too much for the property. It’s often said you make your profit when you buy
the land. Market knowledge and good negotiating skills are critical to becoming a successful
developer.
3. Poor Due Diligence: Effective due diligence needs to incorporate many aspects relating to
town planning, engineering, financial analysis, demographics, market research. You don’t want
to buy a lemon. Having a comprehensive due diligence checklist is essential.
4. Under Costed Feasibility: This is related to point 3 above - they haven’t done an accurate
feasibility study before purchasing the property. While it may not be hard to get a handle on the
income side- the end value of your development by asking agents or valuers, nailing the costs
on the expenditure side can be more difficult – particularly for beginners. You need to know all
the costs that relate to the project and the likely timing of them.
5. Incorrect Ownership Structure: Setting up the correct ownership structure before even
looking for a site is critical. Different structures will have different outcomes on taxation issues
such as income tax, capital gains tax and GST. An inappropriate structure could cost you a lot of
money and may make it difficult to obtain development finance.
6. Finance Problems: Obtaining development finance is very different to obtain normal
investment finance. Getting the correct finance, understanding your borrowing limit and having
financial buffers in place are a critical part of the development process.
7. Poor Timing: Some investors timed their property development poorly with regards to the
property cycle. Completing a development in the depth of a slump can be disastrous on the end
result. As a property developer you have to be one step ahead of the property cycle recognizing
that your development project could take up to two years.
8. Overconfidence: I’ve seen novice developers became over confident after doing one or two
successful development and accept too low a profit margin.
9. Not Knowing What They Don’t Know: Some property investors move into the realm of
property development not understanding the rules of the game are very different. They don’t
know what they don’t know and they get caught.
How to get started in Property Development 13
The Keys to Building a Substantial Property Portfolio
In my book “How to Grow a Multi Million Dollar Property Portfolio - in your spare time”
I have detailed my strategy for building a substantial property portfolio.
The concepts in this report on property development just accelerate all that I have covered
in the book.
The basic steps to creating your own substantial portfolio that will one day lead to your financial
independence are:
1. Buy a well located property and take out a loan for 80% loan to value ratio (LVR) (Never
pay above market price.)
2. Add value to your property through renovations or refurbishment or redevelopment.
3. Lease your property – this should be at a better rent now that you have improved your
property. If you have constructed a new townhouse as part of a development project, you should
have a flood of potential tenants.
4. Refinance your property taking advantage of its increased value because you have bought
well and added value.
5. Extract your deposit and do it all again!
6. Never sell!
You will speed up this whole process if you think like a developer.
I’m talking about having a developer’s “mindset.”
Now, just to be clear, this does not necessarily mean literally being a developer, because that
just doesn’t suit everyone. What I mean is to constantly think like a developer and always look for
ways to add or “create” value, in order to maximize the return on your investment.
As you have learned from this report thinking
like a developer, or becoming a developer, is a
great way to quickly increase the value of your
investments and allows you to build your property
portfolio more quickly than the average investor.
It gives you the opportunity to refinance more
quickly as you are creating your own capital
growth - a great strategy today when there is
generally poor capital growth in most of our
major markets.
Think like a developer. Buy like a
developer. Add value like a developer!
How to get started in Property Development 14
Some Final Thoughts
It is important that you realize that by becoming a property developer you have created some
equity out of thin air 2 + 2 = 5
If you undertake your development project correctly, the end value of your project will be
considerably more than the sum of the all the costs of the project. This extra equity is yours and
you don’t pay tax on it – unless you sell the property.
That’s one of the reasons I strongly advocate never selling.
Rather than selling, but by retaining your property and leaving equity in your property, you are
effectively saving it, and you don’t pay tax. But just leaving your money in the property is probably
not the most efficient use of your funds. By extracting your equity though refinancing and using the
funds to finance your next purchase, you are not really spending your equity. You are just making
your money work harder and more efficiently for you.
Consider this carefully because it is an advanced finance concept. Extracted equity used to
finance further purchases is effectively using your equity to create further equity!
By using the released equity as a deposit for your next property and having a mortgage for the
remainder of a new purchase price, it means you are using none of your own money. So the
investment return on your funds, the cash-on-cash return is infinite!
There is nothing new bout making these types of profits through property development.
The problem is that up until recently this has only been available to those in the industry or those
“in the know.” The average Australian does not have the time, contacts or knowledge to become a
successful property developer.
That is until know, because Australia’s leading development manager, Metropole Property
Investment Strategists helps everyday Australians become property developers through their
Property Developer Program. And you don’t have to be a millionaire to get involved and you
don’t have to get your hands dirty.
Metropole takes care of everything from concept to completion. As part of its services, Metropole:
• finds the right site to meet your objectives
• undertakes detailed feasibility studies including a comprehensive design and cost
assessment
• obtains development approval (a town planning permit.)
• prepares full working drawings and project specifications including engineering services and
structural plans.
• obtains building quotes
• appoints a master builder on a fixed time and price contract, checks all contractual
arrangements and oversees the construction to completion
How to get started in Property Development 15
• organises full surveying and subdivision services
• sources very competitive construction and development finance for its clients
• Metropole Property Management will then lease your property and manage it for you to
maximize your returns.
• keeps you updated every step of the way and most importantly, removes the day to day
worries of running a real estate development.
Contact Metropole to find out how you can get started in Property
Development - Please call us on 1300 20 30 30 | www.metropole.com.au
How to get started in Property Development 16
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How to get started in Property Development 19
Metropole is very proud to
have been able to assist in
yet another success story
Property Strategists
Metropole Property Strategists
www.metropole.com.au
Melbourne - Sydney - Brisbane
How to get started in Property Development 20
How to get started in Property Development 21
How to get started in Property Development 22
How to get started in Property Development 23
Metropole is very proud to have been able
to assist in yet another success story
Property Strategists
Metropole Property Strategists
www.metropole.com.au
Melbourne - Sydney - Brisbane
How to get started in Property Development 24
Now you can become a property developer and acquire your next
investment property at developer’s cost!
Use Metropole’s project management services – become part of the property developer’s
program.
Now YOU can become a property developer and make handsome profits. You don’t have to
be a millionaire or a hands-on developer to do it. Your project will be in the secure hands of the
Metropole team who have created substantial wealth for their clients since 1979.
Metropole’s Property Developer Program offers you the opportunity to purchase property
at wholesale prices and lock in immediate profits. We enable you to become what we call an
“armchair developer” and get all the benefits of property development without getting your hands
dirty. Metropole organizes everything and acts as your project manager. However, at all times you
are in control and maintain ownership of the property title together with all profits from the project.
We allow ordinary Australians to become property developers and take the hassle out of your
investment by assisting you with all the development expertise you need. From concept to
completion. Metropole provides a complete Project Management service that allows you to secure
high-performance properties so you can take advantage of the benefits only available to property
developers.
Acquiring high performance properties that are cheap to own “at wholesale” (with built in capital
growth) helps you build your property portfolio faster.
How to get started in Property Development 25
find out how Metropole can help you become a property developer
Please call us on 1300 20 30 30
Or access www.metropole.com.au
Melbourne: Level 2, 181 Bay Street, Brighton, VIC, 3186; Tel 03 9591 8888
Brisbane: Suite 2, 162 Boundary St, West End, Qld, 4101; Tel 07 3106 7266
Sydney: Level 4, Edgecliff Centre 203-233 New South Head Rd, Edgecliff, NSW, 2027; Tel: 02 9327 2266
Copyright © 2008-2016 | All rights reserved | Published by Metropole Property Strategists
DISCLAIMER: Metropole Property Strategists and its related businesses makes no representation and gives no warranty as to the accuracy of the information in this
document and accepts no liability for any errors, misprints or omission herein (whether negligent or otherwise). The publisher, editor and authors shall not be liable for
any loss or damage whatsoever arising as a result of any person acting or refraining from acting in reliance on any information contained therein. Some of the authors
are NOT licensed investment advisors or planners; licensed real estate agents; licensed financial planners or advisors; a qualified or practicing accountant; qualified
or practicing finance professionals. All information in this e-book has been obtained by the authors solely from their own experiences as investors and is provided as
general information only. No reader should rely solely on the information contained in this publication, as it does not purport to be comprehensive or to render specific
advice. As such it is not intended for use as a source of investment advice. All readers are advised to retain competent counsel from legal, accounting and investment
advisers to determine their own specific investment needs
