Wholesale vs Retail: What Developers Need to Know

This blog isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s a practical overview of how wholesale and retail differ, and a few tips and considerations that can help developers decide which pathway best fits their project.

Retail Vs Wholesale Sale Campaigns Retail

Retail tends to lend itself more naturally to completed product aimed at owner-occupiers or more risk-averse purchasers who are comfortable buying once construction is complete or nearing completion. It can also play a powerful role in brand-building, especially for developers who are new to market or launching under a fresh brand. For these groups, retail aligns well with public-facing campaigns where building trust and visibility with end buyers is critical.

Typical retail characteristics include:

• Exclusive agency model: One real estate agency is generally engaged exclusively.

• On-market exposure: Listings are promoted through major portals such as realestate.com.au and Domain.

• Marketing spend: Developers fund upfront campaigns including advertising, display suites, and signage.

• Sales cycle: Generally longer, but builds public awareness and credibility.
  

Wholesale

Wholesale, by contrast, typically involves off-market distribution through a network of project marketers and investment-focused agents. Properties are not usually listed on public portals, and commissions are built into the distribution model rather than relying on large upfront marketing spends.

Wholesale is especially relevant for off-the-plan projects with longer construction timeframes, where investors are comfortable with delayed settlements and are motivated by depreciation benefits, SMSF compliance, or yield-driven strategies.

Typical wholesale characteristics include:

• Broader distribution: Multiple agents access the stock via networks, each with their own buyer databases.

• Off-market positioning: Stock is not usually visible to the general public.

• Performance-based: Developers often carry little to no upfront marketing cost, paying commissions on success.

• Sales momentum: Can generate rapid early sales, which may be leveraged later in retail campaigns.
  

It’s worth noting there are nuances. For example, following the HomeBuilder grant period, many builders ran thin on margins and several well-known names unfortunately collapsed. Since then, we’ve seen some wholesale buyers specifically target under-construction or near-completion stock to minimise perceived risk — an anomaly to the typical “off-the-plan only” narrative.

One important point: wholesale and retail are market condition dependent. When retail is flourishing (for example, when owner-occupier demand is strong), wholesale may be less effective, and vice versa. Developers need to understand that neither strategy is “always on.” The decision is best made in the context of current market demand, financing conditions, and buyer appetite.

Key Considerations for Developers

1. Feasibility & Margin Support

The first step is assessing whether the project feasibility supports a wholesale sales model. It’s important to note that wholesale is not a solution for a unviable project. The fundamentals — pricing, product, and location — still need to stack up.

Where wholesale adds value is by creating early project sales momentum in ways retail often can’t. Many developers will launch through wholesale first, before moving into retail. Why? Because buyers are far more confident entering a project that’s already 50% sold than being the very first purchaser. When retail campaigns launch with strong pre-sales behind them, it sends a powerful message of confidence to the market. In this sense, wholesale can act as a catalyst, setting the stage for retail success.

Another major advantage lies in the role wholesale plays in development funding. Banks and lenders often require pre-sales before releasing construction finance. Securing those pre-sales through wholesale distribution can give developers a faster pathway to funding and, in some cases, allows them to test the market with minimal upfront marketing spend.

At the same time, we often see opportunities to strengthen feasibility at the design stage. Introducing alternative layouts early — before building approvals — may add a little time to the process, but it can improve yields, enhance the investor value proposition, and even support a higher land price. These design-led tweaks often flow through to stronger feasibility outcomes.

2. Staging Strategy

Staging simply means releasing stock in phases rather than all at once. Some developers will launch the first stage wholesale to build momentum, then transition later stages into retail once confidence has been established.

For example, in a 40-townhouse project, a developer may release 20 via wholesale to secure rapid pre-sales, then move the remaining 20 into retail with a stronger market story. This not only spreads risk but can also align with broader project timelines.

That said, staging needs to be handled carefully. Pricing must remain consistent with market evidence, and two-tier pricing is enforceable under Australian real estate law. We always recommend approaching staging with strict commercial discipline, ensuring both the wholesale and retail releases align with feasibility and market comparables.

3. Buyer Profile Alignment

Currently (as of August), Bridge Projects Group is seeing three dominant buyer groups across Australia:

• SMSF buyers: These require one-part contracts (not house & land) to comply with borrowing restrictions. This is the strongest demand driver we’re seeing in wholesale channels.

• Yield-driven investors: Always present, with appetite for higher returns through co-living, rooming houses, or specialist assets like NDIS (when executed correctly).

• Growth-focused buyers: Typically land buyers looking to ride urban growth cycles by entering early and banking future capital growth.
  

Matching product types with the right buyer profile is critical. Wholesale agents, in particular, are most effective when the stock lines up with live buyer demand.

Questions Developers Should Be Asking

When weighing up wholesale vs retail, developers should be asking themselves:

• Does my feasibility comfortably allow for the margin structures wholesale requires?

• How many presales do I need to unlock development funding, and can wholesale accelerate that?

• Would staging (wholesale first, retail later) de-risk absorption while maintaining pricing integrity?

• Am I building a brand that needs visibility and trust with end buyers (leaning retail), or is this more about rapid take-up and financing certainty (leaning wholesale)?

• Which buyer profiles are active in my market right now, and does my product align with them?

• How would the chosen model affect project timing, cash flow, and lender confidence?

The Bridge Projects Group Difference

• Network of over 800+ property professionals across Australia into South East Asia & India.

• One stop shop for all-in-one sales, marketing & property public relations

• Market Insights & Data driven feedback to align projects for success.
  

👉 If you’re a developer considering wholesale or retail sales and want to stress-test which model suits your feasibility, we’re always open to sharing insights from the hundreds of projects we’ve reviewed.

Disclaimer: This article is general in nature and does not constitute legal or financial advice. All sales and marketing strategies must comply with relevant state-based real estate laws and disclosure obligations. Developers should always seek independent professional advice before making decisions about sales structures or marketing strategies.