How ALH Takes Long View on Subdivision Success

It’s said there is no substitute for experience.

Gaining experience is usually a matter of trial and error, and while that may be fine for some endeavours, in the property sector it can lead to the kind of disaster that’s hard to recover from, financially, legally, and even mentally.

Bringing experience to the table, experience with true depth and variety, is at the heart of what Australian Land and Housing (ALH) does.

ALH was created 2 years ago by Damian Hogan and Tim Clarke, who both have extensive backgrounds in development management, project marketing and sales with over 25 and 29 years experience respectively. ALH are proud members of Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA), representing the property development sector.

Hogan said the motivation for the launch had been what they saw as a clear lack of experienced land sales professionals in New South Wales.

“There are a lot of real estate agents, obviously, but there are very few that do land subdivisions and do it well,” he said.

“Having a development background and having worked for some of the leading developers in New South Wales gave us an edge in terms of how to go about selling.

Clarke said their experiences working with top-tier developers had given them a superior level of market intelligence and range of contacts and relationships.

That includes strong databases of contract home builders, retail and wholesale buyers of land, and a wide network of alternate sales channels.

“We look for a strategy rather than just banging it out and trying to sell it like most agents would,” Clarke said.

“We look at the bigger picture, we delve into what's best for the project and what's best for the revenue long term.

“There's a traditional way of selling and doing things, but we look to challenge that.

“While we aim to extract as much revenue as we can for the developer, we also work to get the best built form outcome as well.”

Clarke said that was managed with a range of different approaches.

For example:

• Developed site specific built form to overcome constraints and contours

• Implemented a range of commercial terms with partners to improve sales and revenue.

• Reviewed and implement design review Panel to ensure adequate built form design outcomes and streetscapes

• Provide a balanced ratio between land only and house and land packages

• Quality systems to track marketing return on investment

• Implementing non-conventional sales channels

“We really have a holistic approach and that gets a better outcome, long term.”

ALH’s first major project is Wilton Greens, a master planned community in south-west Sydney by developer Risland, valued at $1.5 billion. It will eventually comprise 3600 land parcels across 433ha.

ALH is also working on a number of land subdivision project throughout north-western Sydney, including at Box Hill, Riverstone and Schofields. The efforts of ALH have been recognised by being awarded as a finalist in the local business awards for 2021.

Clarke said for such a large project as Wilton Green, a long-term strategy built on a solid partnership with the developer and the builder partners was essential.

“It is important to form a good relationship from the outset to create success long term,” he said.

“The usual approach of just selling, without a solid, future-focussed strategy in place, will not deliver success for a development that could be a decade long.”

“We get involved early in the process so the developer’s goals are clear.

“It is essential that early on it is the right product being put forward.

“We advise the developer clients early in the process, things like estate entrances, where to release, how to go about it, what numbers to release—and the sales are the end result.

“All that work up-front leads to that sale. It's not just taking a deposit at the end. We've already done all that work, which makes the end part much easier.”

The experience ALH bring to projects added depth and dimension, Hogan said.

“We are a sophisticated, specialised developer in our own right—that's what we do,” he said.

“We don’t just give our clients advice, we look at things as varied as the type of builders they’re using, the landscaping, the design guidelines, all the little steps—it is all the aspects that the biggest development firms have whole teams to do.

“We've been able to refine that for a very efficient outcome for the developer—and at a very good price as well.”

Clarke said the firm’s flexibility meant it could work effectively with developers of any size and on projects from small to large.

“We are specialists in masterplanned communities and it is a sector we have a lot of experience in,” he said.

“Our success working with the developers of Wilton Green is a prime example.

“It has gone from an area that was virtually unheard of and thought of being too far out from Sydney, to more than 500 sales in a year from a standing start, creating a database from zero to now more than 9000 registered buyers.

“Plus we’ve grown prices about 40 per cent in 12 months. We're not just a real estate agent, we're a partner in the business.” The results have outperformed any competing projects in the area.

Clarke said the pandemic had prompted ALH to adopt a range of measures to overcome lockdowns, social distancing and other restrictions.

“We are using virtual reality masterplans, and we’re one of the only firms using the technology for that, as well as an online booking system to purchase land,” he said.

“Since, for example, the state’s 12-week lockdown, we've had two releases.

“We had held information sessions for our purchasers, either on the phone or online forums, where they get all the information up front. From there it's all done by the online booking system.

“We’ve had two releases of approximately 30 blocks in each release, which sold out on the day of release.

“While many of our competitors have closed up shop during this time, we're still actively out there, still getting the prices, and the inquiry is still strong.”

Hogan said bringing ALH onboard a project meant hard-to-find experience and diversity of skills was at a developer’s fingertips.

“We approach each project from the perspective of being a partner,” We are there to sell the tough lots, the last release, the last lot and not cherry pick the easy ones and move on , he said.

“It means we’re in deep, we understand all of a developments nuances and peculiarities, so we can advise on the right solution and approaches at a micro as well as macro level.

“With ALH, you are bolting experience and skills to your project that you just don’t find easily.”

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