Property development simulator
See what your property development business would turn over, how many buyers you'd win and who you'd lose them to — quarter by quarter for four years — before you spend real money.
Land, planning, a build loan and the months before anything sells. This one opens as Ashgrove Homes: A small residential developer buying sites, getting planning and building a few new homes a year to sell. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own property development business and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady development company ends up with
Played steadily for all four years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady development company here ends its last year on $7.1m of revenue and $681k of profit, with 15 buyers and 2.7% of the market (#5 of 5).
It starts from nothing: $900k in the bank and you, 50 hours a week, with no buyers yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $7.1m
Profit in the last year: $681k
Buyers at the end: 15
Share of the market: From nothing to 2.7%
Where it finishes: #5 of 5
Years and decisions: 4 years, quarterly
What you'll decide each quarter
Each quarter you set your fees, decide how many people to carry against the work you have won, what to spend on winning the next buyer, and which cities you work in.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your buyers are
Expertise sells on reputation and is limited by people: every buyer needs somebody's hours, so growing means hiring just ahead of the work without running out of cash first.
2,500 buyers in all, across your home city, the capital, the second city, a university city and a coastal city.
First-time buyers: A two- or three-bed home near work, on a mortgage at the limit. About 1,380 of them, worth $315k a year each.
Families moving up: A bigger house and a garden, selling the old one to buy. About 750 of them, worth $483k a year each.
Investors buying off-plan: Several homes at once to let, at a discount for buying early. About 175 of them, worth $1.1m a year each.
Downsizers: Something smaller and newer, bought outright from the sale of the family home. About 200 of them, worth $420k a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The national housebuilder: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 28% of the market.
The local builder-developer: Hasn't changed in years and is living off the customers it already has. Holds about 20% of the market.
Resale homes on the market: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 12% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of buyer, three rivals and five cities.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your property development business in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady development company ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it quarter by quarter for four years.
Also for
property development · real estate developer · real estate development · housing developer · housing development · residential development · land development · new homes · new-build homes · homebuilder · house builder · build to sell · fix and flip
How much does the property development simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this property development business market, change anything in it and see what a steady development company ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own property development business?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the buyers and what they pay, the rivals, the cities, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your property development business in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for a property development business?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year four turning over between $800k and $16m, with between 2 and 40 buyers. This one's preview comes to about $7.1m and 15. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test a property development business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward quarter by quarter, and see whether the money lasts, how many buyers you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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