Feasibility Reports
Thinking about subdividing, building townhouses, or developing a site—but unsure if it’s possible, profitable, or even allowed? Our Development Feasibility Reports gives you a clear, expert-backed roadmap—so you can move forward with confidence and avoid expensive mistakes.
Feeling Stuck?
Most People Want to Get Ahead but Don’t Know Where to Start.
You’re not alone if you’ve ever found yourself dreaming of building wealth through property development but felt overwhelmed by the complexity of it all. Whether you’re a first-time developer, a homeowner with extra land, or a builder wanting to take on your own projects, the road to successful development can seem unclear and intimidating.
The truth is: most people want to get ahead but don’t know where to start. They’re unsure about how to identify a good opportunity, how to assess risks, or even if their idea is financially viable. It’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis or to jump in without understanding all the moving parts.
This is where our Development Feasibility Reports come in.
It takes the uncertainty out of the equation by giving you a clear, actionable overview of your project’s potential. Instead of guessing whether your development idea will work, our report provides you with:
• Understand the true potential of your site
• Uncover hidden risks and constraints before they become costly issues
• Create a clear path forward with realistic costings and profit projections
Starting with the right foundation sets you up for success — and it all begins with understanding whether your project makes sense, before you commit to the big decisions. We’ll help you take the guesswork out of property development and show you exactly what steps to take next.
Stop guessing, start planning — a feasibility report shows you the path forward.
What you’ll get in your report
-
✺ Site Development Potential
We assess what your site is zoned for and highlight any key planning rules or overlays that apply. No guesswork — just clear development possibilities.
-
✺ Preliminary Concept Design
A simple, high-level layout that shows what could realistically fit on your site. Perfect for visualising the opportunity and discussing options with agents, builders, or lenders.
-
✺ High-Level Cost Estimate
We break down expected development costs — including land, build, council fees, consultants, subdivision costs and contingencies — so you know what you’re really in for.
-
✺ Profitability Snapshot
We calculate projected end values and development margins based on current market data. You’ll know whether the numbers stack up — or when to walk away.
-
✺ Step-by-Step Roadmap
A clear outline of what comes next: consents, consultants, timeframes, and key risks to manage. Perfect for first-timers who want to understand the full picture.
-
✺ Site-Specific Constraints
A detailed development analysis plan that identifies planning rules, overlays, access challenges, infrastructure limits, and other factors that could impact your project.
Who are our reports for?
-
Wondering if you can subdivide or build in the backyard? Our feasibility report shows you the development potential of your property, complete with costs, profit forecasts, and next steps.
-
Are you looking for expert guidance before you jump into your first project?
-
Thinking about developing your site for better returns? A feasibility report helps you quickly evaluate whether a site is worth pursuing—and what kind of yield or profit you can expect.
-
Ready to stop building for others and start developing your own projects? We’ll help you assess site potential so you can take the lead, build smarter, and unlock the full profits for yourself.
Why choose I Am Developer?
We’re an architectural company and development consultancy that specialises in guiding first-time and small-scale developers through the entire process. Our reports are practical, easy to understand, and focused on real outcomes.
We don’t just tell you what’s possible—we show you how to make it happen.
Read about one of our own recent projects on Stuff.co.nz here.
✺ Frequently asked questions ✺
-
Yes. Just because you own the land doesn’t mean development is straightforward. Our report shows what’s possible—and what to watch out for.
-
We typically deliver reports within 10–14 working days after receiving all the required information.
-
We’ll walk you through the findings and next steps. If you choose to proceed, we can support you with design, consent, and development management.
-
Absolutely. Brokesr love our reports as they include high-level financials that are often required by lenders and helpful for raising investment.
-
Absolutely. A feasibility report is a smart way to evaluate a site before you purchase, so you can buy with confidence.
-
That’s exactly why it’s worth doing — saving you from committing time and money to a project that won’t work. We’ll also help explore alternative options if available.
Are you ready to start your development journey?
So what was the outcome?
Let’s take a look.
Strategy #1 - Remove the existing dwelling, build new home at rear, subdivide, build new house at front to sell.
Site Layout - Our report showed that there was enough room on the site to comfortably fit a new home at the rear (including a separate studio for cashflow), with on-site parking, a double garage, and fit a new home at the front of the site to be sold, which would have its own street access. We could make this work with no Unitary Plan infringements, although a Resource Consent would still be required for the subdivision. Both sites would have adequate outdoor amenity and decent lot sizes (494m2 and 305m2), meaning they would be appealing to future buyers.
Costings - Where strategy #1 came up short was in the overall costs to complete the project. Our feasibilities include an in-depth breakdown of the overall costs to complete the project from start to finish, including Design Stages, Resource Consent, Building Consent, Engineering Plan Approval, Construction, Subdivision, Sales & Marketing, Finance, and Contingency costs. The cost estimate for this first strategy showed a total price of around $2.4mil + GST. Although this strategy achieved everything from the house design point of view, this was outside our client’s budget.
Strategy #2 - Relocate the existing dwelling to the rear and renovate, subdivide, relocate a house to front to sell.
Site Layout - This second option included keeping the existing dwelling on the site but shifting it to the rear to make room at the front for a second lot that would be subdivided onto its own title to sell. While not as desirable as building new, keeping the existing house and renovating it will still achieve a great outcome while heavily reducing the overall costs of the project. The house could easily be extended at a later date if more space was required and if the funds are available to do so.
Don’t just take our word for it — here’s how our feasibility reports have helped real clients move forward with clarity and confidence.
Case Study #1 - Point Chev relocation & subdivision
With this project, our client, who is sitting on a beautiful site in Point Chevalier, had two clear aims:
1 - Build themselves a new home.
2 - Reduce remaining mortgage out the other end debt free.
To help them achieve these goals, we came up with two strategies to test and see which one stacked up better. The key here was to keep the overall costs as tight as possible, so they would have confidence going into the build stage that their mortgage would be as close to zero as possible when finished.
To achieve this we looked at two strategies:
#1 - Remove the existing dwelling, build a new home at the rear of the site, subdivide, build or relocate a home to the front of the site to sell and reduce overall debt.
#2 - Relocate the existing house to the rear of the site and renovate it, subdivide, relocate a home to the front of the site to sell.
Costings - From a planning point of view, this second option was easily achievable, but where it really shines is that the overall costings have reduced from $2.4mil to $1.26mil + GST while still achieving a similar outcome. The key difference being that our overall construction costs reduce from around $1.95mil to $800k while still providing two homes on two sites.
The outcome?
Option 02 gave the client the best of both worlds — a comfortable home, reduced risk, and a clear financial upside. By presenting both options in a structured feasibility report, they were able to make an informed, confident decision that aligned with their priorities.
The longer you wait, the more opportunities you miss — get your feasibility report and take the first step today.
