Ep 249 – The Benefits of Replicating What Works in Property Development

Introduction

FIn property development, you do not want to be the most creative person on the market. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, success often comes down to observing patterns and replicating exactly what is already working in your specific patch.In this episode of the Property Mastermind Podcast, hosts Hilary Saxton and Bob Anderson discuss the massive financial benefits of replicating successful development formulas. They explain why being a “pioneer” is a dangerous strategy, sharing a cautionary tale of a developer who built apartments in Beenleigh when the market only wanted houses and townhouses. Bob also shares his own success story of replicating the exact colour palette and fixtures of a sold-out Melbourne project to guarantee his apartments would appeal to buyers. Whether you are deciding on ceiling heights, pool placement, or the size of a roller door, this episode will teach you how to give the market exactly what it wants.

Episode Highlights

02:02 – Bob’s Tip of the Week: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”. Bob shares how mentoring students Andrew and Jess bounced back from missing out on a deal to successfully securing another great site shortly after. 

05:35 – Pick Your Patch: Why you shouldn’t try to take on a whole city, but instead focus on becoming the local expert in a specific area.

08:35 – The Danger of Being a Pioneer: Why you should never be the first person to try something new in an area. Bob shares the story of a developer who built apartments in Beenleigh when the market demand was strictly for houses and townhouses, resulting in a costly failure.

11:52 – Micro-Level Market Research: How even tiny details matter, such as placing a pool on the north side versus the south side of a street, which can result in a $50,000 difference in sale price.

14:13 – The Eccentricity Trap: Why building a design that appeals to your personal, eccentric tastes instead of the broader market will leave your property languishing unsold.

15:30 – The Melbourne Apartment Strategy: Bob reveals how he guaranteed the success of an apartment project by asking local marketing agents for the exact colour palettes and fixtures of their most successful recent project, and then copying them entirely.

30:49 – Listening to the Market: Hilary and Bob discuss their current industrial project (“Elevate”) and how meeting with three commercial real estate companies beforehand led them to include high-demand features like larger mezzanines, higher roller doors, and a massive power transformer