Making It in Real Estate:
Thriving as a Developer
Third Edition
“Best damn book on development I’ve ever read.”
—Preston Butcher
Buy the Book
available as in paperback, ebook, and audio editions
March 17, 2026
The book John McNellis wished existed when he started out. Also the one that might talk you out of starting at all.
John McNellis learned real estate the same way he learned the facts of life. On the street. Deal by deal — often acquiring experience just after he needed it.
Over 40 years, he's developed shopping centers, mixed-use projects, and office buildings across Northern California, cofounding McNellis Partners in the mid-1980s with the same two partners he works with today. He's made money, lost money, gotten crushed by hidden granite, burned through escrows, survived recessions, and — somewhere along the way — figured out what actually matters in this business.
This book is the result.
What's new in the Third Edition
This expanded edition adds three new sections to the original primer:
Failing Enthusiastically — McNellis walks through his worst deals in uncomfortable detail: the $20 million shopping center he had no business buying at 28, the 1031 exchange that went sideways, the site where the geotechnical engineer somehow missed a granite mountain lurking a few feet below the surface. He describes the experience of writing these chapters as "incurring a slight case of PTSD." The lessons are worth the discomfort.
Property Management — The cornerstone of any CRE development or investment firm, and a topic he somehow managed to overlook in the first two editions. When to manage yourself, when to go outside, how to choose a manager, and why passive investments are rarely as passive as advertised.
Collected Essays — A selection of McNellis's published writing on real estate and life, drawn from the San Francisco Business Times and TheRegistry magazine. Topics range from modular construction and retail's transformation to optimism, friendship, and how to write your own obituary.
What readers are saying:
"The best real estate book that I have read and I recommend it to everyone — novice and veteran — in the industry." — Lucas Joseph
"Mr. McNellis explains the world of the developer through human experience — our judgments, foibles, blind spots, aspirations. If you are serious about becoming a developer, this book is essential." — David Gordon
"It is my real estate Bible." — Amazon review
"Put aside other real estate textbooks! Newbies and wily, cantankerous veterans alike will find this gripping primer on the real estate deal process to be a catalyst in turning creative ideas and big dreams into tomorrow's built environment." — Jim Curtis
"John McNellis has a talent few other developers possess: he can swiftly cut to the chase to make a deal that works for both sides. He is among the best at knowing when a deal makes sense to pursue, or when to walk away and await the next one." — James S. Fassio
"His wit makes it an easy read. I would highly recommend this book to both experienced and beginning real estate developers and investors." — George M. Marcus
"John McNellis fills his book with rich insight, great advice, humor, and inspiration — sharing his deep experience and wisdom, helping us think more clearly about real estate and assorted business issues. A must-read." — Mark L. Myers