Thinking Outside the Box: Why Innovation Is Crucial for Developers

With competition in the property development industry at an all-time high, developers need to think outside the box and innovate if they want to remain profitable.

One development group taking innovation to heart is Thirdi – a Sydney and Newcastle-focused developer with over $600 million in its current development pipeline.

Thirdi director of sales and marketing Luke Berry said the group's ability understand the nuances of the property market has been critical to their success in creating a scalable and sustainable property business.

“In a recent meeting with one of the big four banks one of the more senior professionals mentioned that he enjoyed financing our projects simply because of our passion toward building our own brand, our ability to think differently and our commitment to providing great buildings,” Berry said.

“In this market, we’ve seen a lot of development companies come and go – but it’s the ones that are thinking differently and really working to provide buyers with the end-product that they want that remain viable.”

Thirdi’s successful approach to property development is focused on four key elements: diversification strategies, a commitment to aged care, unique project marketing and collaboration with luxury brands.

Related reading: A Changing Newcastle Welcomes its Latest Project

1. Diversification Strategies

In current market conditions, it is crucial for developers to utilise various diversification strategies that see them remain viable through even the most difficult market conditions.

Being located in both Newcastle and Sydney, Thirdi is able to access a diverse buying base, while giving their company strength in a volatile market.

“An example of our diversification is our presence in both the Sydney and Newcastle markets. Since the Sydney market has cooled significantly in the middle price bracket ($1-2 million), the same buying demographic ($500k - $1 million) is strong in Newcastle – allowing us to capitalise on where the market strengths are,” Berry said.

“Since we’re well established in both markets, we are able to deliver products that meet market demand in both areas – whether that’s a $385,000 1-bedroom unit in Newcastle, or a $5 million townhouse in Sydney.

“Our ability to deliver vastly different project types in completely unique markets gives us a clear understanding of each area-specific market, and strengthens our business model in all market conditions.”

2. A Commitment To Aged Care

Another key to Thirdi’s diversification strategy is their new focus on the thriving aged-care sector, where they hope to continue delivering great properties that meet the needs of the end-user.

“Earlier this year we announced our partnership with Michael Egginton, former managing director at Lendlease to create ThirdAge – our aged-care/retirement specific sector,” Berry said.

“We’re excited to have Michael on board and heading ThirdAge, especially since he believes in our goal to keep innovating and diversifying our strategies.

"He’s going to be an integral part of our future growth in the retirement living sector, and we are going to announce our first two developments in this space later this year.”

3. Unique Project Marketing

With the development industry being one of the most competitive industries in Australia, it is crucial that a developer utilises unique marketing strategies for each of their projects to capture buyer interest and to reach ever-growing pre-sales targets.

“At Thirdi, we understand that consumers are now more than ever being overwhelmed with choice when it comes to developments – that’s why we focus our project marketing on providing unique insights that help buyers make informed decisions,” Berry said.

“This was especially impactful in our approach to selling our project, Paragon. Our unique content-based approach saw us become a finalist in the UDIA Awards for Excellence in Marketing, and our focus on innovative content marketing was a key part of why we made it to the final round of judging.

“By focusing on content marketing, we are able to sell the lifestyle of our developments, rather than the product. This allows us better qualify our leads and to drive higher engagement with potential purchasers – resulting in more sales.”

4. Partnering With Luxury Brands

Another unique approach to marketing that Thirdi is embracing is their collaboration and partnership with luxury brands, which allows them to reach a larger audience and to make a bigger impact with their marketing campaigns.

“Looking back to our approach on Paragon, by partnering with some of Australia’s leading luxury brands, we were able to elevate our project to a higher status than what it would have been alone,” Berry said.

“We estimate that by working with these brands we were able to reach an additional 1 million potential purchasers simply by leveraging off their databases and social media presence.

"This drove awareness of our project significantly past what would we would have achieved through traditional marketing strategies.”

In a rapidly changing industry, it is development companies like Thirdi that are going to remain the most relevant – staying viable in challenging market conditions.

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