The Property Development Process: 9 Stages Explained

The development journey

Nine stages, two years, and surprisingly few hammer swings by the developer.

Strip away the mystique and a residential development is a sequence. Nine stages, each with its own experts, its own risks and its own bills. The developer's job is not to swing hammers. It is to make several hundred decisions in the right order and keep a dozen professionals pointed at the same outcome. The industry saying is that development is about managing people and processes, and it is a saying because it is true.

Chapter 3 of the FracHaus property development guide, the development journey, shown as a page beside its illustration

The nine stages

Stage	What happens	Typical elapsed time
1. Research and site hunting	Market analysis, shortlisting suburbs, walking sites, testing what the zoning allows	1 to 3 months
2. Due diligence	Town planning checks, services, flooding, contamination, title, what the neighbours built	2 to 6 weeks
3. Feasibility	The numbers: end values, all costs, margin. Run, re-run, stress-tested (chapter 4)	continuous
4. Acquisition	Negotiation, contract terms, settlement or option structures	1 to 3 months
5. Design and development approval	Architect, town planner, engineers, council assessment, RFIs (chapter 5)	4 to 12 months
6. Working drawings and building approval	Construction-ready documentation, certifier sign-off	2 to 3 months
7. Finance and presales	Senior debt, equity, presale covenants (chapter 6)	1 to 3 months, often overlapping
8. Construction	The visible part at last: builder, program, progress claims (chapter 7)	9 to 14 months for small projects
9. Completion and settlement	Practical completion, titles, valuations, settlements, keys (chapter 8)	1 to 3 months

Add it up and a small townhouse project typically runs 18 months to 3 years end to end. Most of that time nothing visible is happening on the block, which is exactly when inexperienced developers get nervous and experienced ones get on with the next decision. For a closer look at each step in isolation, read the seven stages of a small residential development.

Effort is not the same as elapsed time

Here is the counterintuitive bit. Across those two-plus years, the developer’s own hands-on hours on a small project can total only a few working weeks. The architect, engineers, planner and builder put in the thousands of hours. The developer contributes judgement: which site, which design, which builder, which price, when to hold and when to walk. It is why some experienced developers run projects alongside a day job. It is also why judgement, not effort, is what you are really backing when you back a developer.

The catch, and it is a serious one, is that every stage above is a place where money leaks if the judgement is wrong. The next five chapters take the highest-stakes stages one at a time.

Questions people ask about this

How long does a small property development take?

Typically 18 months to 3 years end to end for a small townhouse project. Site research and due diligence take one to four months, design and development approval four to twelve months, working drawings and building approval two to three months, finance and presales one to three months (often overlapping), construction nine to fourteen months, and completion and settlement one to three months.

What are the stages of property development?

Nine stages. Research and site hunting, due diligence, feasibility, acquisition, design and development approval, working drawings and building approval, finance and presales, construction, and completion and settlement. Feasibility runs continuously rather than in one block, because the numbers are re-tested as each new cost becomes real.

Do developers do the building themselves?

No. On a small project the developer's own hands-on hours can total only a few working weeks across two years. The architect, engineers, town planner and builder contribute the thousands of hours. The developer contributes judgement: which site, which design, which builder, which price, and when to hold or walk away.