Province Group has been in business for over 30 years and has developed, renovated, entitled, and/or acquired over 75 projects, having a value of more than $850 million.

The company brings “best in class” site selection, entitlement, and underwriting experience to each opportunity and is committed to creative development solutions, strong market positioning, and highly professional development management.

Province Group takes great pride in our:

Site Selection Principal Driven Organization Strong Development Team Entitlement Track Record Risk Management

Site Selection

Province Group employs a variety of proven techniques and strategies in search of suitable acquisition opportunities. These techniques include: relying on a well-developed broker network, the proven ability to identify and enter new markets, unique land search techniques, and working with an extensive consultant network.

Well-established relationships with national homebuilders provide direct deal flow as these companies occasionally move to reduce their raw land holdings. Furthermore, the Company has deep relationships with many real estate industry professionals, which has allowed Province Group to stay at the forefront of deal flow.

Province Group invests only in primary and secondary markets with a focus on projects having a compelling competitive advantage. The company seeks opportunities in core housing markets with favorable immigration, net migration, demographic, and employment trends. These markets are typically in the high-growth western, southern, and sun-belt states. Priority is given to first-time buyer and first-time move-up buyer consumer segments in markets with high barriers to entry and a limited supply of developable land as a result of physical, regulatory, or environmental constraints.

Principal Driven Organization

Province Group is a principal-driven organization led by Mark Kerslake, a career real estate professional with over 30 years of real estate development experience.

Believing that the key element of success is the hands-on involvement of the principal in each project, Province Group does not undertake a large number of development projects. Accordingly, the principal works directly with those involved rather than merely a project manager leading the effort as is the case with so many larger firms.

With the principal intricately involved in every project, Province Group is able to maintain its nimble decision making and can ensure that a standard of excellence and expertise is applied to every project and transaction.

Strong Development Team

Province Group has excellent relationships with top-tier professional consultants in each of the markets in which the company invests. Province Group believes in hiring the best firms and is skilled at getting high-quality work product from industry leading consultants and contractors in a timely fashion.

Province Group has, for many projects, put the challenge to its consultants by creating a design competition among several of its favorite firms. This process results in multiple design solutions and a synergy of ideas which, once incorporated together, leads to a better and more rewarding project. Ultimately, this allows Province Group to select the best consultant or team of consultants for every single project.

Province Group strives for unique solutions and high-quality projects and demands this standard of excellence from all included on the development team.

Entitlement Track Record

Province Group excels at managing the land use approval process, a key component to maximizing value for any project. The successful and timely achievement of these approvals is critical. On multiple occasions, Province Group has directly processed and obtained general plan amendments, zone change applications, and site plan approvals on complex projects in challenging, no growth jurisdictions.

Province Group is well versed in CEQA compliance and traffic issues, and understands the importance of environmental documentation and maintaining a clear and compelling administrative record to minimize the risk associated with entitlement challenges. The company has and is able to optimize the real estate it invests in by creating a market driven, financially solid land plan, with a logical and sensible infrastructure phasing plan.

The principal officers and key personnel of Province Group together have more than 75 years of entitlement and development experience throughout multiple markets and are experts at navigating the complex land use approval process.

Risk Management

In an effort to make the most profitable investments and limit risk, Province Group performs thorough underwriting and due diligence on every asset it considers purchasing. The company excels at performing due diligence functions and assessing the existing and potential value of real estate assets.

Province Group has successfully mitigated development and investment risks by diversifying investments by geography, project size, market position, product type, price diversity, consumer profile, builder, and development life cycle. Other techniques include employing favorable acquisition transaction structures, maintaining appropriate debt and equity levels, use of seller financing, staging land purchases, and pre-negotiating lot sale contracts.

Accurate underwriting and risk assessment have played a critical role in the company’s success and include rigorous analysis of the following:

Key supply/demand metrics
Proximity to strong employment centers
Viable transportation infrastructure
Submarket demographics (existing and forecast trends)
The location, condition and use of the property
Sales price, absorption, and competitive market set
Product type, size, and segmentation
The local political climate
Regulatory issues / constraints
General economic conditions
Thorough investigation of any environmental risks
Availability and capacity of public services
Development and infrastructure costs
Geotechnical characteristics
Survey and title
Flora and fauna
School district quality and performance
Project proforma and cash flow modeling