Property development in Australia is getting harder—and this episode unpacks why. Soaring costs, endless planning delays, contradictory government policies, and a risk-averse planning culture are pushing developers to the edge. If you're struggling to make your numbers work, you're not alone. In this episode of the Property Developer Podcast, we explore what’s broken in the system and what needs to change. Our guest, Maxwell Shifman from Intrapac Property, shares blunt insights from the front li...
Jun 07, 2025•1 hr 18 min
There are few things more complicated during a property development than the builder going bust during the construction phase of a project. It puts you in a very precarious position and becomes very tricky to navigate. So many issues have to be resolved and the whole process can be very stressful and time consuming. This is exactly what happened with property developer and development financier Dan Holden from Holden Capital. During a construction phase his builder went bust through no fault of ...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 32 min
Steve Maroun has an interesting story to share about his journey into property development. Interestingly, Steve started studying law at university while running a property maintenance business. He then realised that law was not for him and he got his builder's license and moved into property development, following in the footsteps of his father. After completing an apartment complex project on the property next door to where he lived, he made the move into luxury, high end projects to capitalis...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Managing a project remotely comes with some unique challenges. Keeping the team on the same page and working together can be difficult when you can't just drop by the site for a meeting. Mark Gallo is a Sydney based mortgage broker who is currently doing a duplex project in Victoria. Mark shares with us how and why he ended up doing a project interstate, the lessons he has learned about managing from a distance and some finance tips for how to position your project to obtain the best funding in ...
Oct 25, 2024•58 min
Imagine going from no property development experience to delivering one of the most iconic towers overlooking Central Park in New York City, one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets. David Juracich did just that. David is originally from Australia before moving overseas to work in banking and finance. He ended up in New York City and was involved with building an amazing slimline residential tower overlooking Central Park along what has become known as Billionaire’s Row. I thought m...
Sep 15, 2024•2 hr 1 min
Bouncing back after adversity is a story we all love, so hearing from a developer who went big only for things to unravel with costly and complex legal challenges is a fascinating insight into always striving toward your life goals. Iwan Sunito from One Global Capital is a seasoned property developer who has enjoyed several decades of success doing some major projects under his former company Crown Group. Crown developed some significant projects over the years to the value of around $4 billion ...
Apr 06, 2024
Tackling your first development project is usually an emotional journey and it was no different for a young architect who turned her focus on delivering an exquisite duplex property. Jenn Sinclair accidentally discovered that she had bought a former meth lab as the property she planned on turning into a luxury home. It was the start of her journey toward becoming a property developer. She was inspired by designing and building her family home and decided to take on a duplex project and test her ...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Understanding the rhythm and cycle of the property market is obviously extremely beneficial to property developers so you can plan the best time to deliver projects and maximise profits. Being aware of when the market is likely to boom or go bust can help you ride out the cycles and endure over the long term. Today’s guest is Phillip Anderson from Property Sharemarket Economics. Phil is the author of the book The Secret Life of Real Estate and Banking, an investment analyst and an investor. Phil...
Jan 22, 2024
The impact of rising construction costs and increasing interest rates has been acutely felt across the development industry and economy more broadly. Managing these costs has been top of the list for many property developers. In this episode we speak with regular guest Dan Holden from Holden Capital about the state of the lending market and what's ahead for the next 12 months. We cover how construction delays have been affecting projects, the impact of rising costs and how lenders are responding...
Dec 11, 2023•55 min
Does working in a property-related trade mean you can easily transition into the world of property developer? Just because you understand one small part of a development project doesn’t automatically mean you can run a development project, but it can certainly help. My guest on this episode is Mark Lovett from Liquid Silver Developments. Mark has a long and storied career doing small to medium scale development projects, starting out as a plasterer before moving into property investing. He then ...
Nov 03, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Working on luxury projects is often a dream for many people who get involved with property developing, moving from renovations and entry level projects to something more challenging and high-end. Justin O'Donnell from Cielo Property Group has followed this path and started out with small projects before evolving into luxury townhouses and apartment projects. Along the way he has faced many challenges, and he shares how he overcame them and some of lessons learned including the benefits of growin...
Sep 15, 2023•41 min
There are many skills from other industries and careers that can translate well to property development. After all, delivering a property development project is really about working with people, solving problems and managing a budget, so making the move from management consultant to property developer might not be as crazy as it sounds. Leonie Akhidenor from View Bank Homes did make the switch from being a successful management consultant to taking up a role in the family property business, some...
Aug 25, 2023•45 min
Success in property developing is about supplying the right product in the right place at the right time. But how do you figure all that out? Legendary market analyst John Lindeman has been helping property investors make informed decisions about where to find the next hot spot and what stock is in demand. John’s accuracy in predicting the nature and direction of housing markets is legendary. So it is awesome to have him with us today. In this discussion we cover: - What's happening across the m...
Jul 17, 2023•50 min
Building wealth through property is a tried and tested method, with some investors succeeding in creating portfolios of strong assets that generate substantial cashflows. Julian Carlo-Stella shares how he is going about generating wealth through property development. Property in Australia has broadly performed well over time and has enabled some people to generate wealth and income. Developing new properties can be a great way of leveraging skills and creating assets at cost price rather than bu...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Making the transition to full time property developer is an aspiration for many people that get involved with small scale developments, but how do you make the leap across the chasm? We find out from developer Nolan Keenan about how he did it. Nolan is from Aveline Property and has gone from starting out as a real estate agent before working in IT and then recently becoming a full time property developer. Nolan shares his story of progressing from a simple splitter project to now managing multip...
May 17, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Property development has some inherent risks, like any business venture, and understanding what they are and how they can be mitigated is crucial to ensuring the success of any project. Ron Forlee is a real legend in Australian property development circles. Ron will be a name known to many listeners of the show having written a number of books on developing property in Australia including Australian Residential Property Development, An intelligent guide to Australian Property Development and Aus...
Apr 16, 2023•1 hr 9 min
Joint ventures are a great way to do more projects and reduce risk. Property development can at times be a lonely game so if you have other people to talk with about issues and solve problems it can really help take your developing to another level. Valerie Smith from Valsco Property Group has harnessed the power of joint ventures to enable her to take on bigger projects. Valerie and her husband have travelled the well worn path from property investors and renovators to property developers. They...
Mar 07, 2023•42 min
No two property development projects are ever the same. Each project throws up its own challenges and opportunities. Lessons learned from each project can help to avoid or overcome issues faced on future projects. Taking the lessons learned from past property development projects can help ensure more efficient projects in the future, and provide a foundation of experience to help solve other problems. Today’s guest, Matt Campbell from Kyabel, is currently delivering 17 small scale projects and s...
Feb 14, 2023•48 min
Sales are the lynch pin of any good property development project, and to get sales your product needs to appeal to a buyer. Give the buyer what they want and making the sale becomes easier. So how do you come to understand what a buyer wants? We talk to a seasoned property developer to find out what they do to profile their buyers. With Jeremy De Zylva from Resolution Property Group we cover:what Jeremy learnt from working for large corporate organizations the one key thing that developers can f...
Jan 24, 2023•48 min
When things get a little choppy during a project due to factors beyond your control, like rates rising or build times blowing out, it helps to have flexible and reliable funding in place to see you through. In this conversation with regular guest and finance guru Dan Holden from Holden Capital, we will be covering: what's happening in the lending markets the outlook for the cash rate challenges many developers are currently facing with build costs and delays case studies and; the release of Dan'...
Nov 30, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Settling on a property development strategy can often be an evolutionary process as you learn what works and what you enjoy. That can involve a few twists and turns before you find something effective and repeatable, which is what happened with my latest guest. Anselm Mathurin is a Caribbean based property developer with a terrific story to share about following a dream and learning along the way. Like most property developers, Anselm has faced some challenges in getting his projects out of the ...
Nov 11, 2022•1 hr 12 min
Selling off the plan property is vital for many development projects to get out of the ground. Marketing and selling an idea and vision requires specialist skills. So I'm speaking with Ben Khong from Chisholm & Gamon about off the plan sales. Ben has been working in property sales for a couple of decades, mainly selling off the plan so brings a wealth of experience to this conversation, and lots of practical tips for your next sales campaign. We talk about how you can seek out the best agent...
Oct 13, 2022•55 min
With escalating build costs, delays obtaining materials and softening property values the development sector is once again facing a raft of challenges that are effecting the bottom line. This volatility and uncertainty is having an impact on finance and lending with variations to time and cost quite common. So how is this affecting the lending markets and what sorts of responses are lenders putting in place to protect themselves and their clients? Let's discuss all this and more with previous gu...
Sep 21, 2022•44 min
Cashflow may not be something you first think of when you get into property development, however it becomes a crucial component when you become a full time developer and need ways to generate an income between profit events. What types of projects are good for cashflow? There can be many but one stands out for its ease of getting built and its popularity with a certain segment of the market. Henry Vila from Stone Horizon, a developer and a builder, talks to us about modern style rooming houses, ...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Getting your first development project underway is an exciting time. Until the wheels start to fall off and it looks ugly, what happens then? How do you turn things around and kick start a fledgling developing career that has stalled? Baheer Komak really struggled to get some traction with his property developing and his first project, a small 3 unit site was almost a total disaster before he turned it around by changing course. Baz is now running multiple development projects and has come a lon...
Jun 07, 2022•48 min
Finding profitable development sites is a core responsibility for a property developer but increased competition in a hot market can make it very challenging at times. While most property is sold on the open market and found through popular sites such as realestate.com.au, plenty of transactions happen off market facilitated by people like buyers agents. A buyers agent acts on behalf of a buyer and leverages their network of agents and contacts to find properties that meet the brief of their cli...
Apr 28, 2022•39 min
Messy and costly legal issues in property development can often be avoided through good upfront advice and planning with an experienced property solicitor or lawyer. What are some common contractual issues and legal potholes that you should try and bypass? I speak to a property lawyer to find out. My guest on this episode is Kristy Muhlhan from Burke & Associates Lawyers. Kristy is the head of their Property Law Division and she shares a wealth of tips and ideas about keeping the legal side ...
Jan 17, 2022•48 min
Anybody who has been through a few planning applications would know that strange things can happen along the way. Getting a permit is not always as easy as it sounds, particularly if there is some contentious element or interest groups start to mobilise against your application. This is exactly what happened to well known former professional basketball player Andrew Bogut when he tried to get a permit for a redevelopment project he wanted to do on some land he owned. Instead of being a straightf...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 5 min
The classic pathway into property development is to start with renovations and then move into smaller developments and then on to small scale multi unit projects. And that is the journey that Paul Wilding has taken. I’ve known Paul for a few years and he’s been doing a number of small unit projects around Melbourne, some in similar areas to my own projects. Paul shares his insight into what he has learnt along the way including the importance of understanding market dynamics, how to start and gr...
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 8 min
This month I wrapped up a 14 townhouse project that I have been working on for nearly five years. It has been a long, challenging and eventful project. There have been many many lessons and I will share some with you. We have finished with all the settlements in the complex. I have one remaining unit left unsold which is currently on the market and I'm looking to get that sold in the next month or so. I had always planned on keeping this unit till the end of the project because it is bigger and ...
Oct 31, 2021•15 min
