Build costs have nearly doubled while selling prices have barely moved. Here are the two plays that still make real money in 2026.

In this episode of Inside Property Development, I sit down with Gavin, Head of Acquisitions at Little Fish, to break down why the old develop-and-sell playbook has stopped stacking up. Build costs have jumped 50% to 100% in just a few years, while Victorian selling prices have barely moved — and that's quietly wiped the margin out of the suburbs that used to work.

You'll see real Melbourne project numbers, like a Newport corner site that cost $930k to build and would cost $2 million today, and why pouring a slab in Footscray now costs the same as Brighton East. More importantly, you'll learn the two strategies still working right now: building new to hold long term in growth pockets like Geelong, and developing higher-end product for buyers who still have money to spend.

If you're tired of forcing old deals that no longer stack up, this episode shows you exactly where the opportunity has moved.

🔥In this episode:

• Why the old develop-and-sell playbook died
• How build costs nearly doubled in a few years
• The Newport site now costs $1M more
• Why outer suburbs no longer stack up
• Why interstate buyers are flooding Victoria
• The two plays that still work in 2026
• The build-to-hold play in Geelong
• Targeting the higher-end owner-occupier market

👇 Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:00 What was the old property development playbook, and why did it work for so long?

02:11 What changed, and why has the middle of the market become so much harder?

08:59 Where is property development still working in 2026?

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