The developer's reverse-engineering method for deciding what a site is really worth.
Use the RLV calculatorMost development mistakes start with paying too much for land. RLV protects margin by starting with the finished product value and working backwards.
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Gross realisation | $2,400,000 |
| Development and soft costs | $1,450,000 |
| Finance, selling and contingency | $180,000 |
| Required margin | $300,000 |
| Residual land value | $470,000 |
Generic educational example only. Real feasibility depends on researched local end values and site-specific costs.
This guide is written for the point where a buyer needs to turn planning language into a commercial decision. A useful guide should not stop at definitions. It should explain what to check, why the check matters, and how the result changes the price someone can safely pay for the land.
Read the zone, overlays, height, FSR/FAR or density controls, frontage, access and minimum site-area logic. If the controls do not support the intended product, the rest of the spreadsheet is theatre.
Convert the planning read into a believable number of lots, dwellings, apartments or commercial floor area. Allow for setbacks, circulation, parking, open space, services and design inefficiency.
Work backward from end value through construction, consultants, authority charges, finance, selling costs, contingency and required margin to a maximum residual land value.
The most expensive mistake is not missing a site; it is buying a site at the wrong number because one part of the feasibility chain was assumed. GoSiteHunt exists to run those checks earlier.
Run an address through GoSiteHunt or start with the residual land value calculator before you commit due diligence spend.
Before relying on any first-pass development signal, confirm the address against the live planning source, the title and easements, survey dimensions, tree and heritage controls, infrastructure capacity, stormwater, access geometry, parking, open-space requirements and any recent or pending planning amendments. Then test the commercial side: realistic end values, selling time, construction rate, demolition, services, consultant fees, authority contributions, contingency, finance, tax treatment, delivery timeframe, holding costs and the margin required for the risk. The value of GoSiteHunt is that it keeps these checks connected. A page may help a site get onto the shortlist, but the address-level report and a professional review decide whether it deserves an offer.
For search users, this extra context matters because development feasibility is never a single-keyword answer. A useful page should explain the decision path, the assumptions and the next action, not just repeat a suburb, zone or tool name. That is why each GoSiteHunt discovery page links the topic back to a practical screening workflow. The goal is not to pad copy; it is to make the page useful enough that a buyer understands what evidence is missing, what a consultant would still need to confirm, and which next action moves the opportunity closer to or further from a genuine offer. Every page should answer a practical buyer question and point to a measurable address-level check.