Most people start with the price. We start with what the site can physically carry, then the suburb, then what the site should become, and only then run the numbers. It is how Alex assesses sites for his own projects, and it is the standard every opportunity has to meet.
Can this site actually carry the project?
Before we look at the suburb or the numbers, we check that the site works on the ground. Many deals that look good on paper fall over here, so this is where we start.
- Permissibility. Does the current zoning allow the intended use, and under which planning pathway?
- Services and capacity. Sewer, stormwater, water, electricity, gas and NBN: whether they are available, and whether there is capacity for more dwellings or a bigger use. Upgrades can cost more than the land.
- Site constraints. Ecology, access, traffic, slope, flooding and heritage. Anything that could reshape the design or stall an approval.
Is the demand real, and is it growing?
We study supply and demand, demographics, employment, and where governments are spending on transport, health and education. A good site in a stalling suburb is still a hard project.
The true filter.
What does this area need, and what could this site legally and practically deliver? Highest and best use analysis tests every realistic option against local demand and the planning controls: units, multi-dwelling housing, land subdivision, childcare, a medical centre or mixed use. The right answer could be a combination, and getting it wrong means the numbers do not matter.
What it is worth today, and what it could be worth.
A comparative market analysis is stacked against two views of value: the property as it stands, and the property as if approved or built. The gap between them shows where the opportunity sits.
Where value is created.
Some value could be added on paper, by securing the right development approval. More could come from carrying out the project. We map both, so you can see where your effort may be rewarded. All figures remain subject to independent valuation.
Developer’s Gold Mine
Our site acquisition checklist. Planning controls, title, constraints, access, services and risk, checked before an opportunity reaches you.
Smart Developer’s Feaso Blueprint
Our feasibility model. Land, acquisition, consultants, build, finance, holding and selling costs, laid out so you can test the margin yourself.
9 Master Steps of Funding
The pack we prepare for valuers and lenders. It sets out your project the way a credit team reads it, which may help you reach a decision sooner.
Test a rough margin yourself. Our full feasibility model, the Smart Developer’s Feaso Blueprint, adds consultants, finance, holding and selling costs in detail.
Illustrative only, using rough allowances. Not financial advice. Speak to a mortgage broker and your accountant.
Book a strategy meetingOur assessment is a starting point for your decision, not a substitute for independent planning, legal, valuation, tax or finance advice. Development involves risk, and approvals, costs and values may change.
Thirty minutes with Alex’s team. Bring your budget, your goals and your appetite for risk. We will show you what fits.