How Manly’s Old Apartment Buildings Can Achieve a Big Uplift in Value
Across Manly, ageing apartment buildings are sitting on untapped potential. With new apartments commanding premium prices and the location itself highly sought after, redevelopment can deliver a major uplift in value for existing strata owners. For many, this represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to achieve a significant return on their investment. It’s also a practical solution for buildings facing escalating repair and maintenance costs, especially those grappling with issues like concrete spalling.
Concrete Spalling: Why Redevelopment Made Sense for these Manly Owners
Recently, we advised the strata owners of a 1960s apartment building in central Manly. We analysed the property exactly as a developer would, site capacity, yield, costs, timing, risk and exit, and gave the owners the advantage of knowing the developer’s playbook before any conversation with a developer began. With this developer style feasibility in hand, the owners could see what a rational buyer should pay and why.
Our analysis showed that, by acting together and negotiating strategically, the owners should receive at least double what they had collectively paid for their building. We then set out the steps to achieve the price uplift and explained how to engage (and protect themselves) when dealing with developers. Importantly, we never act for developers, only for property owners, so our advice is aligned solely with the owners’ commercial interests.
Common Strata Owner Issues
Owners of older buildings in Manly often face:
Increasing maintenance and repair bills
Reluctance from buyers due to costly repairs (especially concrete cancer)
Approaches from developers, sometimes aggressive or underhanded
Expensive fire compliance upgrades
These triggers make a premium exit or redevelopment pathway more attractive, and more urgent.
Photo by pj soans, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Expert Guidance for Manly Strata Owners to Maximise Value
Maximising your property’s value isn’t just about knowing the cost of repairs. It requires a two‑step, owner‑focused process:
Step 1 Developer style feasibility + commercial strategy
A comprehensive assessment of your building’s commercial position, development potential, realistic potential uplift, costs, timing, risks and alternative pathways.
A clear, logical plan that shows how owners can make the most money while minimising risk, grounded in how the developers actually assess sites.
Step 2 Engage the developer market, on your terms
Structure the approach, information flow and decision rules so the owners retain control.
Test offers, claims, and “friendly” representations rigorously. Developers will use every manoeuvre to save on acquisition, every dollar they save is profit for them, so price, structure, conditions and timing all matter.
Negotiate with discipline and protect the group - alignment among owners, clarity on authority and independent verification of key assumptions.
Common Owner Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
We frequently see owners accepting what developers say at face value. There are both good and bad developers but their goal is always profit, so every statement and offer should be tested independently by someone experienced in development site negotiations.
Another common mistake made by property owners is relying on their own general commercial experience rather than recognising the specialised nature of the development site market, which is the market in which value can be added to old strata buildings.
A further mistake is agreeing strategy or negotiating cost and revenue sharing between strata owners without expert external help. Clear rules and strong commercial discipline protect the group and help secure the best outcome.
If you’re a strata owner or committee member in Manly considering your options, expert advice can make all the difference. For a free confidential initial consultation, contact Augusta Advisors and discover how you can unlock the full value of your property.