How Real Estate Developers Think: Design, Profits, and Community (The City in the Twenty-First Century)

Interesting read that offers good insight to some of the critical skills required for successful real estate development

Although being a UK-based architect, I found the case studies/stories in the book equally applicable. I would recommend Peter's book as a 'must' read for every architect, who wants to understand better the perspective of real estate developers, which would ultimately make him/her a better service provider.

This was by far one of the most helpful resources I've come across. It's not just another dry RE textbook or huckster "practical guide" to understanding the real estate development process, this book strikes much more to the core of what I needed to know... that is, how many of the top developers really "think" about their projects, deals, finance structuring, relationships, sales and the use of art, recognizing where you are in a cycle, etc. Gaining access to their perspectives is invaluable for anyone in the RE business, new to the business, communities dealing with development, and product/service businesses seeking to gain better leverage/opportunities working with developers and landlords. This is a true gem worth exponentially more than it's price~ I feel grateful that this has escalated my personal development as serial entrepreneur and new builder... I only wish there were more like it.

Truly a fantastic book. From novice to expert, this book helps to shed light on so many aspects of the development game. Once I read it, I was able to make sense of a number of issues that had perplexed me in the past because I was able to see certain scenarios through the eyes of other players (Financiers to architects). Once you understand that you don't know what you don't know, you can ask better questions throughout the process to be able to understand all of the pieces. This book doesn't solve the headaches of development, but helps to make them more palatable and should be on the shelf of everyone who plays a role in development.

As a principal in an architecture firm I have pondered the ways of developers for years. Our firm owns several books on real estate development, we subscribe to the magazines that our developer clients subscribe to, but still developers remain a mystery. Sometimes their motivations are crystal clear – we want more square feet of building on this piece of land – but other times their decision making is obscure. Are they from a different planet in which every decision can be run through a risk/reward calculator? But Peter Brown’s book helps to elucidate the method behind the madness. He explained that that developer are charged with building our cities and suburbs and what constraints they operate under – more than one might imagine. It is important to note that this is an enjoyable book to read, although apparently the author has a background in academics, this book is a series of highly entertaining stories from the development world woven together with analysis, perspective and context. Having read several books on development and biographies of developers, this book is a breakthrough in its readability and accessibility. I recommend it highly for anyone interested in learning more about real estate development.