47 – Getting 200 people lining up to buy your property development (part 1)

Would you love to have 200 people lining up to buy in to your next property development? I would!  So I speak with Andy Hoyne, a respected thought leader in the property development industry, about the marketing and strategic positioning of development projects.
Andy is the Founding Principal of Hoyne, and has been working in and around the property sector for the last 25 years, helping major Australian and international developers and councils create recognisable landmarks across Australia. This, coupled with Andy’s travels around the world, mean he has seen how the power of effective placemaking can completely transform communities.
Andy strongly believes that we can do more to create meaningful places, and this led him to publish The Place Economy – a significant resource book that looks at best-practice placemaking around the globe and its social and economic impacts. And you will have the chance to win a copy of that book, so stay tuned for how.
"In a hot market people get lazy and just deliver product." Andy Hoyne
This ended up being another longer chat so I'be broken it up into two parts.
In the first half of the interview we cover the importance of having a point of difference, how you can mitigate risk through innovation, and the 'must do' marketing activities for developer’s on a budget.
In part 2, we will cover how to grow your development business and create a company that stands out.
Keep an ear out during this part of the discussion for Andy's tips on how you can get 200 people lining up to buy your product...
Property Development Training
If you are interested in learning the fundamentals of property development, in your own time and at your own pace, then be sure to head over to www.propertydevelopertraining.com and take a look. I take you step by step through the development process so you know exactly what is needed to find a site, run a feasibility and complete a small scale property development, be that a duplex or 3 or 4 unit site. The training includes a bonus program called Taking It To The Next Level for people who may want to go into developing full-time, along with another bonus course called Raising Capital which covers how to raise money for your projects.
So head over to propertydevelopertraining.com and take a look... I would love to see you on the inside...
Property Developer Quiz
Keen to find out how ready you might be to become a developer? Then take the Property Developer Quiz (https://www.propertydevelopertraining.com/quiz) and get a sense of where you are at…
Become a Million Dollar Property Developer
Grab my book Become a Million Dollar Property Developer about my journey into property development. This book is ideal for anyone who intends to get into small-scale property development and wants an insider’s guide to successfully obtaining wealth, fulfilment, and glory.
In this book, Justin will share how he succeeded in delivering a 20-townhouse project on his first property development project and what he learned along the way.
Many people have a dream of becoming a property developer. They aspire to build properties, grow portfolios, and amass great wealth. However, many people often struggle with making the leap into property development.
This book has the answers for how you can make the leap into property development. Grab your copy now.
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Tips for real estate developers
I think part 1 of my talk with Andy was chock full of ideas and inspiration to help take your developing to the next level. We keep mining for more gold in the second half of the conversation so make sure you catch that in the next episode.
Here are three lessons I took out of that part of my chat with Andy
1. Successful property developers understand the importance of having a point of difference
It was a great point that Andy made around the challenges you will face if you deliver the same offering as pretty much everyone else. It means you will ride the ups and downs of the market. Without offering something compelling how can you expect to influence the price upwards? Andy gave the great example of how the bottom 2% of a building, if done really well, may in fact positively influence the prices of the 98% of units above it, because there is something really interesting and attractive there for buyers. Andy suggested hiring really good, clever consultants who can really help you shape something special.
2. Property developers can mitigate risk through innovation and difference
Following on from the previous point about being different, if you want to get higher returns then Andy talked about not just continuing to do the same thing over and over again. If you can understand what people want, create a compelling solution and exceed people's expectations, then you will be able to find a market for your product and command a higher price. Good developers can deliver quality products over and over, great developers can adapt and change how the game is played.
3. The 'must do' marketing activities for property developers on a budget
I love how Andy came at this question from the point of 'how do you get 200 people to line up for your product?' That's a great way of thinking, and something I do for my projects when I get ready to market them. I think I only need 20 people, or whatever the number is, to love our offering and agree to sign up. So how can I help them fall in love with one of our properties. Andy talked about following this simple process.Step 1. think about who the market is for your project or property and cater to them, are they families, wine lovers, dog lovers, young couples. Whoever it is, figure it out and focus on them. What's going to light their fire or get them excited?Step 2. Have a great design that will attract peopleStep 3. Work out what is going to be distinct about your project. Then come up with an idea and find out how to market that idea. Remember Andy advised to do a couple of things really well, rather than trying to do 10 things cheaply. Andy gave you a rule of thumb of a budget of 2% of gross revenue for marketing activities.
Okay, that's it for part 1 of my inspiring chat with Andy Hoyne, make sure you tune in to part two as we go deeper into what you can do to grow your developing business.
If you enjoyed that chat with Andy, you might like to revisit my discussion with real estate agent and property entrepreneur David Stewart, in episode 24, where we talked about marketing and selling your projects. David and I covered some good ground in that chat, so dig up episode 24 and take a listen.
Don't forget that if you are interested in learning how to develop then email me justin@propertydeveloperpodcast.com and I can send you some information about the program.
So until next time, strive to be different and stand out from the crowd...
Links
Hoyne - https://hoyne.com.au