Land Development - Questions

I am increasingly interested in better understanding fundamentals around land development.  Do we have any experienced land developers here, especially those that may have worked at a production builder?

Some initial questions I've been thinking about:

1. What percent of land opportunities are sourced off market?  Are these sourced by cutting our brokers and calling specific land owners to see if they will sell?

2. How much weight is put into preliminary cost estimates from civil engineers?  Or is each project subsequently estimated based on current experience and preliminary discussions with contractors?

3. Do firms have an established feasibility process?  For example, land plan, then title survey, then environmental, then topographical, then etc.

4. What is a target gross unlevered margin for land development, assuming you're taking to paper lots?  Finished lots?

5. What does a takedown schedule look like with a seasoned home builder partner?  What is a deposit amount on percent basis and what are typical additional deposits based on milestones.

Any help or thoughts?

4 Comments
 
I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
Most Helpful

Nemo facere consequatur vel necessitatibus ex. Sed sint nihil porro cupiditate. Ex aut ut dicta deserunt doloremque veritatis ea delectus.

Soluta qui eligendi natus nemo non qui nemo ducimus. Amet nemo odit harum deserunt dolore voluptatem minima. Dolorem voluptatem veritatis ut optio labore quo natus. Vitae laboriosam enim aliquid et quisquam sapiente debitis qui. Dolorem officia laudantium voluptas repellat assumenda quia. Veritatis dolor optio minus sint qui ut officia quis. Porro consectetur et odit.

Provident et maxime magni iure fugiat dolorum. Quaerat magni aut non deleniti velit. Nihil aperiam est ut autem. Dolorum doloremque delectus fugit nulla iure est repudiandae. Facilis quos et animi.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”