The Property Development Series - Romy Jackson

Continuing to share a behind the scene snapshot of the Property Development sector, Romy Jackson, Development Manager at Samuel Property was kind enough to grab a coffee and provides his insight and career highlights.

Romy is currently tasked with the delivery of multiple high-end apartment developments in and around the south-eastern suburbs. Have a look here at current and past projects Romy has contributed too.

See below as Romy shares his career progression, challenges, and advice:

After finishing your studies, what were the hurdles and pushbacks you faced when looking for your first role?

For me, the biggest hurdle was probably during my studies when I realised pretty early on I had made the wrong choice; All through my final year of school I was convinced Commerce at Melbourne was the one for me – it was almost the expectation at that time.

Less than a year in though, I’d worked out that wasn’t the case. From there I actually took some time off to really discover where my passions lied and plan out the next steps.

After eventually completing my Property & Valuation degree at RMIT, I started out working for a retirement developer – which by no means was my dream role but provided a great base for learning to then later spring off from into the future.

The typical ‘ADM’ role out of University is highly sought after – so you need to be prepared for a lot of swings and a lot of misses. Luckily, I’d dedicated a fair amount of time in my final year to casting the net out wide, which ultimately landed me a role within the industry.

Tell us what a normal day looks like for you?

I’m up by 5:30 each morning to exercise – I really value that time and keeping fit and healthy definitely helps me to stay energised through the day.

Following that, I might be bouncing from design meetings with our architects and engineers, to site visits checking details with the builder, meeting with council to review a new application, talking through new sales strategies with agents or working on the creative campaign for an upcoming launch. There could also be phone calls with purchasers, a new design or acquisition deal to review, all the way through to the less-sexy stuff – which still needs attention no matter how important it may or may not seem.

It’s unpredictable, ever-changing and always keeps you on your toes. When you’re part of such a small team also, the amount of different “hats” you wear through the course of each day can be pretty crazy.

Ideally, I’ll finish up by around 7-8 pm but as many will surely relate, not always so easy!

What part of the development cycle do you focus on as a Senior Development Manager - acquisition, delivery, feasibility, etc.?

Being the sole DM at Samuel, I have to be across it all. So, whether that’s acquisition work, concept design, town planning, creative, marketing and sales, finance, detailed design, construction, settlements – it all needs attention. That level of attention does vary though; depending on your team and style of work. For me, I’d say the creative and marketing phase can be especially intensive.

I wouldn’t want it any other way though – it’s great being able to work across the full spectrum of the cycle and helps to keep things interesting. As we’re constantly running several jobs at a time also, it’s important that we get that staging right so we don’t have the projects all going through the same phase of the cycle at once – that would be less fun!

Once you have finished a development how do you know if you have done a decent job?

Aside from the obvious financial outcome, I get the best gauge on this from spending time with our purchasers. I’ll always ensure I’m there for every single purchaser inspection at settlement time, as I’ve often been talking to them along the journey already and it’s great to be able to bring them through the finished product.

Walking a valued purchaser through their brand-new home and seeing them truly rapt with the result is always a pretty nice moment.

What also comes to mind is when you see or hear of one of your past projects reselling for a significantly higher value – that’s a great outcome and the type of win-win we hope to create for all our buyers.

What do you think are the top 3 skills you think you need to be a property developer?

1. Communication – In this role, you essentially become the conductor of the orchestra on each job. Being able to communicate effectively and appropriately to the whole team is vital in ensuring everyone is on the same page and working to the same goal. You need to deliver direction with confidence and passion – the team should feel as proud or excited about what’s being worked on as you are. This extends beyond just the project teams also and is hugely important from a marketing/branding perspective. I’ll spend a lot of time talking with purchasers for example, as it’s a long journey through to settlement and we want our buyers to come along on that with us in the most positive manner possible.
2. Creativity – In such a highly competitive industry, you need to be able to think outside the box to continue evolving and pushing the boundaries. Being such an unpredictable game also, often you need to find an alternate route or consider something from a fresh angle. There are so many moving parts in every deal or job and being able to think creatively can help to successfully piece the puzzle together as you move through the phases.
3. Emotional Intelligence – Managing people and managing risk are two of the biggest aspects of the job. Being able to work through issues reasonably, stay calm under pressure and maintain a positive environment around you are all vital skills. Understanding what motivates people and encouraging them to play to their strengths is important also – everyone has a different way of working and you need to feel that out and help them to flourish.

How could the education system set graduates up for success?

I’d say more opportunities for real-world work-experience would be the best initiative. It’s funny how when you transition into the working world, you realise there’s so much you could never properly learn or pick up through university and you’ve just got to simply work it out as you go.

Getting better insight into that and becoming comfortable in that corporate environment would be hugely beneficial to soon-to-be graduates.

If you look back over the past five years, what’s been the highlight for you?

Playing a big part in the growth of Samuel for sure. Since joining Illan back in 2016, the business has come a long way and we’re both quite proud of the new direction.

Developing a relationship where we can challenge each other constructively, play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses and bounce ideas around freely has certainly contributed to making that so.

Who has had the biggest influence on your career to date?

In the early days whilst still working through university, my Dad was really helpful in guiding me towards the right path.

Since making my way into the development world, no doubt Illan Samuel (MD at Samuel) has played a part in shaping things as they are today also. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the years and I’ve learnt more than I could have ever imagined.

If there was one thing you would do differently what would it be?

I’ve always said I would’ve loved to do a stint living overseas, somewhere in Europe. That’s all though really, I tend to avoid looking backward too much!

What website do you visit most?

It’s not a website but I’m a big fan of the Joe Rogan podcast – if you filter through the shows, he gets some great guests on and the content can be pretty interesting. The guy has an amazing ability to create naturally free-flowing, genuine chat for hours – it’s hard not to respect that.

Otherwise, I naturally spend a fair amount of time trawling through REA/Domain, just looking at what’s available and selling in different segments of the market.

What do you read to stay up to date with the industry?

I’ll have a scan through the Fin Review every morning online and The Urban Developer’s always a good one too – I’ll read through their email update each day.

Mostly though, it’s just keeping your ear to the ground – staying in touch with your industry mates and networks, being engaged with what’s going on around you.

There’s also no better gauge on the current market conditions than having actual projects selling – you get the feedback first-hand, not weeks or months later when it’s in the papers.

Where do you get your coffee?

I’ll start off with one at home but then I don’t actually have a go-to!

I seem to be around Prahran/Windsor a lot lately though – so Oscar Cooper or Journeyman always goes well.

What is the best piece of advice you would like to share with the development industry hopefuls?

You’ve just got to be proactive and start putting yourself out there. Meet as many people as you can no matter how good/bad/relevant or otherwise it may seem. You never know what might come from it and things often have a funny way of working themselves out.

Don’t get caught up in searching for the “perfect” role either, it’s not always going to be sexy, sunshine and rainbows – but everyone starts somewhere and once you’re actively involved within the industry, it’s far easier to pivot into a new direction with a bit of experience and momentum behind you.