Every development decision starts with one question: what can I build on this land? The honest answer is that the raw zoning code — R1, RGZ, Mixed Use, whatever your jurisdiction calls it — is only the first line of it. A zone tells you the intended land use. It does not tell you how many dwellings the parcel actually yields, whether the numbers stack up, or how much you can afford to pay for the site before the deal turns marginal. Acquisition managers lose weeks chasing addresses that were never going to work, and lose good sites to faster competitors while a planner's report sits in a queue. A zoning lookup that stops at the code label is a dead end.
GoSiteHunt is built to close that gap. Enter any address and it returns the zoning and what you can build, an indicative dwelling and lot yield, a first-pass development feasibility, the residual land value — the most you should pay for the land — and a GO/NO-GO screen. It is fast enough to run before you pick up the phone, cheap enough to run on a long list, and global enough to use in most markets you operate in. Below is how the concept works, how a developer actually uses it, the logic behind a worked example, and where the tool fits in an acquisition workflow.
Zoning and controls
The planning zone plus the height, lot-size and density constraints that govern it, where public planning data is available for the address.
Yield direction
An indicative read on whether townhouses, subdivision, apartments, mixed-use or another asset class deserves a deeper look on this parcel.
GO / NO-GO screen
Zoning facts and feasibility turned into a single call: does this site deserve your time, your money and your consultants — or not?
Why a zoning code is not an answer
Two parcels can carry the identical zone and behave nothing alike. Parcel area, frontage and shape decide how many compliant lots or dwellings physically fit. Overlays — heritage, flooding, bushfire, character, significant trees — can quietly strip out the yield the base zone implies. Slope drives earthworks and retaining costs. Recent approvals nearby set the local precedent a planner and an assessing authority will actually accept. And none of that matters if the end values in the suburb do not clear construction cost plus a developer's margin. "What can I build here" is really four stacked questions: what does the zone allow, what fits on this parcel, does it pay, and how much can I pay for the land. GoSiteHunt answers them in one pass instead of four separate exercises spread across four consultants.
How a developer uses it
The workflow is deliberately short. You paste an address — a site you already have under review, a listing you just saw, or an off-market parcel someone flagged. GoSiteHunt reads the zoning and controls, estimates yield for the plausible asset classes, runs an indicative feasibility, computes residual land value, and prints a GO/NO-GO. If the site screens as a NO-GO, you move on in seconds instead of commissioning a report to tell you the same thing three weeks later. If it screens as a GO, you now have a defensible number to anchor an offer and a reason to spend real money on due diligence.
You are not limited to one address at a time. Use the development site finder to surface candidate sites by suburb and development type — greenfield subdivision, townhouses, apartments, mixed-use, retail and bulky-goods, billboard sites, or energy and data-centre land. Run an area scan to sweep a whole suburb at once. Check a single parcel's subdivision potential, estimate how many townhouses fit, and set a watch on development applications near an address so you see momentum before the market does. The zoning lookup is the atomic unit; the platform lets you run it at scale.
Inputs and outputs at a glance
The tool is intentionally light on what it asks for and dense on what it returns. One address in; a screening pack out.
| You give it | It returns (indicative) |
|---|---|
| A property address (35+ countries) | Planning zone and what the zone permits |
| Key controls: height, minimum lot size, density where published | |
| Indicative dwelling and lot yield for likely asset classes | |
| First-pass development feasibility | |
| Residual land value — the most you should pay for the land | |
| A GO / NO-GO screening call |
Outputs are indicative screening only, not valuation, planning, financial or legal advice. Always confirm the position with your own consultants before committing capital.
Worked example: the logic behind the number
Residual land value is the discipline that separates a developer from a speculator. It works backwards from what the finished project is worth to what the land can be worth today. The mechanics are simple: take the gross realisation (what the completed dwellings sell for), subtract construction, professional fees, statutory and holding costs, finance, and the profit margin you require — and whatever is left is the most you can rationally pay for the site. The figures below are illustrative placeholders, not a real deal, chosen only to show the shape of the calculation.
| Line item (illustrative) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross realisation — 4 townhouses × 620,000 | 2,480,000 |
| less Selling and marketing (~4%) | −99,000 |
| less Construction — 4 × 340,000 | −1,360,000 |
| less Professional fees, contingency, statutory (~12% of build) | −163,000 |
| less Finance and holding costs | −120,000 |
| less Developer profit target (20% on cost) | −338,000 |
| Residual land value — the most to pay | ≈ 400,000 |
The point is not the exact total; it is the direction. If that same parcel is on the market at 550,000, the deal is a NO-GO at today's costs and values unless something changes — higher yield, cheaper build, or stronger end prices. If it is available at 350,000, you have margin to protect. GoSiteHunt performs this logic instantly for the address you enter, so a number that used to take a spreadsheet and a consultant becomes a screening step. Want to run the maths yourself? Use the residual land value calculator and read the method in the guide to calculating residual land value.
How GoSiteHunt helps
The zoning lookup is one tool in an end-to-end acquisition platform: find a site, test feasibility, set the maximum land price, and reach a GO/NO-GO — without stitching together single-function point tools or paying enterprise licence fees. It is global, instant and priced to run across a whole pipeline rather than a single hero deal.
- Feasibility software — turn a screened site into a full development feasibility.
- Development site finder — surface candidate sites by suburb and development type.
- Subdivision potential checker — test whether a parcel splits.
- How many townhouses fit — read indicative yield for a townhouse play.
- Residual land value calculator — set the ceiling on what you should pay.
- How to find development sites — the strategy behind sourcing.
- Compare feasibility software — see where GoSiteHunt sits against the field.
- Adelaide site data — an example of local market coverage.
Start free with 50 trial credits — a single site report costs 1 credit and an area scan costs 5 — so you can screen a real list before you pay for anything. When you need to go deeper, separate paid products cover a 49 vendor's report, Deal Flow alerts from 49/month, and a DocFlow planning report at 249 instant or 990 planner-reviewed, alongside white-label, assembly and operator tiers for teams that scale the model.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a zoning lookup the same as knowing what I can build?
- No. The zoning code tells you the intended use, but the buildable outcome depends on parcel area, overlays, height and density controls, slope, local precedent and end values. GoSiteHunt reads the zoning and then layers yield, feasibility and residual land value on top so you get a practical answer, not just a code label.
- Which countries does it cover?
- You can run an address in 35+ countries. Depth of published planning data varies by jurisdiction, so treat every result as an indicative screen and confirm the detailed controls locally before committing.
- What is residual land value and why does it matter?
- Residual land value is the most you should rationally pay for the land — it is what remains after subtracting construction, fees, finance, holding costs and your required profit from the project's gross realisation. It is the single most important discipline for avoiding overpaying, and GoSiteHunt calculates an indicative figure for you instantly.
- How fast is a result, and what does it cost to try?
- Results come back in seconds. You start free with 50 trial credits: a site report is 1 credit and a whole-area scan is 5, so you can screen a real shortlist before paying for anything.
- Can it find sites for me, not just check one address?
- Yes. Beyond single-address lookups, the platform finds candidate development sites by suburb and type — subdivision, townhouses, apartments, mixed-use, retail, billboards and energy or data-centre land — scans whole areas, checks subdivision potential and watches development applications near an address.
- Is the output planning or valuation advice I can rely on?
- No. Every output is indicative screening only — not valuation, planning, financial or legal advice. It is designed to help you decide which sites deserve real due diligence, which you should always complete with your own qualified consultants before committing.
- What is the GO/NO-GO screen actually telling me?
- It converts the zoning, yield and feasibility into a single first-pass call on whether the site is worth pursuing at today's costs and values. A NO-GO saves you weeks on a dead site; a GO gives you a defensible number to anchor an offer and justify spending on diligence.
Run a free site checkMore questions
GoSiteHunt is instant, indicative screening software. It is not valuation, planning, financial or legal advice — always confirm with your own consultants before committing to a site.