The developer
Build backward from the builder’s price and pace. Land, financing, and entitlements follow the buyer — not the other way around.
Pacer Development · Matt Keith
RESIDENTIAL
LOT DEVELOPMENT
From Raw Land to Builder-Ready Lots
The only product this business builds is a finished lot for a public or large private homebuilder. Start with the buyer. Then find the land.
10 chapters
Developers, landowners, investors
Read online or take the PDF
The opening
“Most developers start with the land. That’s the mistake. Start with the buyer.”
In residential lot development you build one thing: finished lots. Not homes. Not neighborhoods. Lots. If you don’t know who’s buying before you find land, you’re not developing. You’re speculating.
The rest of the book — value, demand, capital, risk, entitlements, schedule, partners, contracts, and taxes — is written so the developer, the landowner, and the investor can see the same deal.
Inside
The whole path, from the exit back to the dirt.
Each chapter ends with what it means for the person building the lots, the person who owns the land, and the person putting up the capital.
- 01Planning the Exit Before You Start
- 02What Is This Land Really Worth?
- 03Proving the Market Exists
- 04Structuring the Capital Stack
- 05Where Deals Go Wrong
- 06Understanding Land Use and Entitlements
- 07The Development Timeline
- 08Choosing (or Becoming) the Right Partner
- 09Contracts That Protect You
- 10Taxes and Deal Structuring
Three readers, one discipline
The exit has to be clear before anyone commits.
The landowner
Your land is worth what a builder will pay for the finished lots it produces. Know that number before you negotiate.
The investor
Underwrite the exit before the acquisition. If the sponsor can’t name the buyer, the price, and the schedule, there isn’t a deal yet.
On the table
The book with the plans, the hard hat, and the morning on site.
In the office
Copies beside the binders, the helmets, and the rolled sets.
On the iron
A stack of copies on the machine that turns dirt into lots.
Read it or take it with you
Get the book.
Read it in the browser, a chapter at a time, or download the PDF. Same book. Your email opens both.