This text is written with the student and early career practitioner in mind as it presents an easy and straightforward analysis of the financial feasibility process for development of new buildings. The book is authored by Dr Tim Havard who has over 25 years’ experience in the construction and property markets. He practiced as a quantity surveyor before moving into property valuation, investment and development. He has worked both in private consultancy practice as well as in academia having lectured at the Salford University, UMIST, Oxford Brookes University, Southampton Institute and University of Technology Sydney. In addition to this text he has also authored: Contemporary Property Development (RIBA enterprises), Investment Property Valuation Today (Reed/Elsevier) and Argus Developer in Practice (Apress, USA).
The text is divided into two distinct parts. The first part is titled “Principles of Development Modelling” and as the title suggests this section explores the development process from a background chapter on development appraisal through a discussion of the key elements that constitute a through development feasibility analysis. The text provides useful tips for students and practitioners relating to some of the pitfalls that may be experienced in collating data for input to a feasibility model. There is also section which lists and discusses the various inputs required in developing a through project analysis. The last two chapters in this part are devoted to the mechanics of constructing a feasibility model and the methods for conducting sensitivity analysis. This section is illustrated with practical easy to follow worked examples using spreadsheets.
Part Two is titled “Development Appraisal in Practice” this part provides two chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to the use of Argus software in the analysis of a development project while the second chapter provides a similar overview of the use of Estate Master DF. These two development feasibility software packages are arguably the industry leaders in this area with widespread use both in professional practice and within university degree courses. The inclusion of these within the book makes a very valuable contribution, either for the professional starting to use either package, or for students developing their skills in project analysis. This part provides a very good link from simple spreadsheet analysis to the more robust solutions provided by these sophisticated software tools.
This is a very practical book which provides a substantial overview of the development appraisal process and then links this to the use of proprietary software in order to achieve a robust and reliable project analysis. I can see the book being of particular interest to those wishing to gain a greater understanding of the development appraisal process or wanting to begin using some of the more sophisticated software solutions available. It will also be a very good teaching tool for lecturers developing property feasibility courses.
