Subdivision sites easy to find?

Hi guys,

I'm 24, have 9 IPs, and am in a position to buy more. One of my goals is to do a small development in the next year. I don't care how small it is, I just want to learn the development/planning process a bit better. I'm pretty time-poor so won't be doing everything myself, I would want to use a town planner to handle everything but learn the basics from them along the way. I work in the industry, so having a better understanding of this process will also help my career.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips on where to start? I would love to do something in Sydney that I could visit weekly, but if this isn't achievable then I would be equally as happy to do something in Brisbane as I know the market reasonably well and have close family up there. (but would also look at Adelaide or Melbourne)

I'm guessing a good place to start would be buying a house on large land and subdividing the excess land off... Or would you suggest starting somewhere else?

Would it be difficult to find something for say $300-400k that I could net $50k from within 6-12 months? If not, what numbers would be achievable and where should I start looking? Suggestions of some good planners would be appreciated as well.

Beyond financial reasons I want to do this to learn from it - would appreciate anyone willing to give tips.

Cheers

 

@DaveM is your man in Adelaide.

There are options in Perth but you would most likely have to hold to make any money. End values are so low here.

 

24 with 9 IPs? Would be interesting to know more about your journey.

Developing for any other reason than to make a profit is foolhardy at best. You will learn just as much making a profit as making a loss. But it's important to only jump in if the project is profitable from the outset. You may not hit your numbers, but you can certainly lose a lot more than you are set to gain starting a project showing insufficient margin at the beginning.
A 20% forecast profit can pretty quickly vanish if things go wrong.

Blacky

 

I'd also like to hear your story of getting to 9 properties at 24!! And how are you in a position to do more with servicing getting so tough?

I was recently searching for a property with development potential in Brisbane (ideally 3-4 townhouses), but I was looking at a lower price point of $300K-$400k in the outer burbs. Developable stock was very limited in the appropriately zoned areas, and often there was a trade off such as very low yield on the existing property or just a really crappy property. My intention was to land bank and develop down the track so this wasn't suitable. I ended up going down a different path.

I understand land banking by holding onto a decent property with future development potential is the strategy many smaller/amateur investors use as in most cases developing immediately simply won't offer any profit and is quite high risk.

 

Good point. Will certainly be looking to make a profit, but that's not my only motivation for taking on this project. I've definitely seen developers crash and burn plenty of time, so thanks again for the warning and for waking me up! Cheers

Good point. If I can't find anything I can develop straight away, then buying future development sites would be something I'll continue to do (I've got one where I can do 3 townhouses on down the track).

Cheers