Property development can be a lucrative industry to dive into. There’s enormous profit potential, plus the option to make lucrative rental returns. You also don’t have to handle such significant projects yourself since you can enlist the services of capable developers and project managers to help.

However, spotting property development opportunities is one of the biggest hurdles many property developers face. If you’re gearing up for your next large project but haven’t yet found the perfect site, here are a few helpful tips for finding it.

Make Yourself Known

With so many reputable commercial real estate managers available to take care of investment properties, such as Investa, it can make sense to seek out as many property development opportunities as possible.

Don’t be afraid to visit local real estate agencies and property-related businesses and discuss your intentions with them. They might know of prime locations and property owners willing to sell or have contact information for influential people who can provide you with the information you need to make informed investing decisions.

Look Local

Becoming a skilled property investor takes much time and effort, and you’ve likely spent many years obtaining the skills and experience you have today. If you want to jump on a property development opportunity sooner rather than later, consider looking locally.

If you sought development prospects outside of your home area, you’d have to dedicate even more time and energy to research, familiarizing yourself with the economic value of specific areas to avoid making poor purchasing choices. If you’re already familiar with your local town or city and the potential of each area or suburb, you might find it much easier to spot an opportunity and potentially improve your development profit potential.

Drive Around

You can learn a lot about potential development opportunities from industry experts like real estate agents. However, you can also gain much of this information yourself by simply driving around the areas you believe hold the most potential for new structures.

Get out and about on foot or in your car and write down the addresses of potential properties that could become lucrative investment deals. You might also like to take photos of land or properties to compare them side by side later.

Consider Infill

Infill describes the development of vacant land or former industrial properties like parking lots, laundries, warehouses, and garages. These properties can be sitting empty and unused within residential areas, with no plans for their use now or in the future.

While infill areas might not catch your eye, they should pique your curiosity for their sometimes-incredible development potential. Government bodies like the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research believe that infill development can be beneficial for:

  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the distance for people to travel
  • Reducing the conversion of agricultural land for development
  • Reducing the costs to build and maintain infrastructure
  • Bringing vibrancy and social connection to neighborhoods

Spotting property development opportunities isn’t always easy, and discovering the perfect site might take a long time. However, by using some of the techniques above, you might find it much easier to identify an ideal development site with exceptional profit potential that adds value to your local town or city.