We’ve all heard of land developers, but how many of us know what they actually do? If the name doesn’t give it away, land developers develop. To delve deeper into their job title and the role they play in the housing and construction industry, we’ve written an article to break down some of the common questions people have on land developers. Whether you’re looking to get started or simply trying to learn a little more about the ways of building and buying land in Australia, you’re in the right place
A land developer takes raw land, obtaining the necessary permits and documentation to create building lots, to add sewers, water and electrical lines, and to maintain the streets and curbs. In Australia, the land development industry thrives as these 2017 statistics show Australia’s total land value as $5.8 trillion. There is much opportunity for aspiring developers to shine, with strong governmental incentives for anyone wishing to try their hand at the land development game.
What Do You Need to be a Land Developer
To be a land developer building homes anywhere in Australia, you will need a minimum education of at least a Bachelor’s degree. Usually, to get a job in the field of land or real estate development you will need a Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate. These courses are likely to cover core land development concepts such as zoning, site plans, permit acquisitions and subdivision. When the land developer has acquired the land, the builder’s job is then to come in and build the structure. Building and developing are two very separate tasks, different in nature and different in the ways it affects the lives of residents.
How Do Land Developers Make Their Money?
In short, residential property developers make their money from maximising the true value of the land on which they purchase. How do they do this? By building separate homes and subdividing them so they’re able to then be sold on to individual buyers as individual dwellings. In the construction industry, a developer is usually considered to be a person developing land through construction who, at the end of the construction process, becomes the owner of developed land. As a general rule, a developer is known to purchase a tract of land, and then determine the marketing plan for the property, develop the building’s program and design, obtain the public approval in order to develop and finance it, build the structures and then rent out, manage and sell it to an individual buyer. Some property developers only undertake part of this process, but it depends on a case by case basis.
We hope this article has helped you to understand the nature of a property developer’s work, whether they’re building in New South Wales or producing house and land packages in Queensland. Each land developer’s day to day is likely to look incredibly different, so thinking about the type of land you’d like to develop and see in the end result is a great start. Either way, the land development industry is thriving in Australia with plentiful opportunities for growth and healthy returns.