Development finance · Brisbane

Development finance in Brisbane.

We are Aurelius Private, private lending brokers on the Gold Coast, and a good part of our development work is in Brisbane. We place each project with a lender from our panel that suits it rather than forcing it through one bank's box.

The substance of a development deal, the feasibility, the site and the exit, is the same whether we are across the desk or an hour up the M1.

Leverage

To ~70% TDC

With mezzanine

To ~85%

Presales

Light or nil

Draws

In days

Indicative only. As brokers we place your deal with the right private lender; final terms are set by that lender.

Where Brisbane development is heading

Brisbane is carrying a more than $25 billion infrastructure pipeline into the 2032 Olympics, and it is redrawing where development makes sense. Cross River Rail's new underground stations at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street are seeding renewal precincts around them, while interstate migration keeps demand running ahead of a tight housing supply. On CoreLogic figures the median house value has pushed past $1.2 million, and units have climbed even faster.

Strong end values and short supply are good news for developers, but not enough to satisfy a bank, which still wants deep pre-sales and low leverage before it will commit. That leaves boutique and mid-tier developers, the ones doing townhouse, unit and infill projects in the middle-ring suburbs, needing another route. Private development finance funds those on feasibility and exit rather than a fixed pre-sale hurdle.

One facility from land to sell-down

Development finance carries the land, the construction draws and the holding costs through to sell-down. We size it against gross realisation value and total development cost, and structure it so the feasibility holds across the full program rather than just the build.

For Brisbane it tends to be townhouse and unit projects, small subdivisions and mixed-use schemes near the new transport precincts, and we can place deals with light or no pre-sales where the numbers carry them. A single build is usually better served by construction finance, which is simpler for that job.

Working with Brisbane clients from the Gold Coast

From the Gold Coast we arrange funding for Brisbane developments across the middle-ring and the infrastructure-led renewal precincts. The on-site work sits with the lender's valuer and consultants, so an hour's distance changes nothing about the timeline.

Developers get stuck when a bank wants presales they can't get and leverage they don't have. Private senior and mezzanine funding reads the feasibility instead, and it's how a lot of good schemes actually get built. Send me the feaso and I'll tell you what leverage is realistic and where to place it.
Rory McGrath
Rory McGrath

Founder and Managing Director, Aurelius Private

Common questions

Will a private lender fund a Brisbane development with low pre-sales?

Often, where the feasibility and exit are strong. Private lenders weigh the site, the end value and the plan rather than a fixed pre-sale percentage. Higher leverage or lighter pre-sales means a higher rate, and we will show you that trade-off up front.

Do you need to be in Brisbane to fund a Brisbane project?

No. We are based on the Gold Coast and arrange Brisbane development finance regularly. The valuation and consultant work happens on the ground either way, and we manage the lender relationship and documentation from here.

Do you work with first-time Brisbane developers?

Yes. A thin track record is a common bank knock-back and one of the things private lenders are more willing to work around when the deal is sound and the team is credible.

Got a Brisbane site?

Send us the feasibility. We will come back the same day with whether it is fundable, at what leverage, and roughly what it will cost.