Feasibility software
The full instant feasibility engine behind every screen.
Most townhouse deals are won or lost before a single line is drawn. The developers who compound wealth are not the ones with the fanciest renders, they are the ones who kill weak sites fast and pay the right price for the good ones. The problem is that the analysis needed to do that, planning controls, dwelling yield, build cost, end value and residual land value, has traditionally lived in a slow, manual spreadsheet you only build once you are already invested in a block. By then the anchoring has done its damage.
Townhouse feasibility is the discipline of answering two questions before that anchoring sets in. First, the planning question: does the zone, site area and shape support the number of dwellings your numbers assume? Second, the money question: once you subtract every cost and your required profit from the finished value, how much is left for the dirt? That leftover is the residual land value, the single most important number in the deal, because it is the ceiling on what you should ever offer. GoSiteHunt produces both answers instantly, for any address, so you screen with numbers instead of hope.
Why townhouse feasibility is its own problem
Townhouses sit in an awkward middle. They are denser than a single dwelling, so the planning rules bite harder, minimum site areas, frontage, private open space, setbacks and parking all compress your yield. But they are simpler than an apartment building, so the margin is thinner and less forgiving. A single extra dwelling can swing a marginal site into profit; a single missed overlay can wipe the margin out. That sensitivity is why screening speed matters. If it takes a day to model each block, you only ever model the blocks you already like, which is a recipe for buying the wrong one at the wrong price.
The other trap is working forwards instead of backwards. Plenty of developers start from the asking price, add their costs, and hope the end value covers it. Feasibility done properly runs the other way. You fix the finished value the market will pay, subtract what it costs to build and sell, subtract the profit you refuse to work without, and only then arrive at the land price. Do it in that order and the land price becomes an output you can walk away from, not an input you rationalise around.
How residual land value works
Residual land value (RLV) is deliberately backwards. You start at the end of the project and peel costs away until only the land is left. The logic runs like this:
- Gross realisation — the total sale value of every completed townhouse.
- Less construction and professional costs — the build, plus design, engineering, council and consultant fees.
- Less selling and holding costs — agent commission, marketing, legal, and finance interest across the program.
- Less developer profit — the margin you require to take the risk, usually expressed as a percentage of cost or of realisation.
- Equals residual land value — the most you can pay for the block and still hit your target return.
If the asking price sits below the residual, the deal has headroom. If it sits above, you either negotiate, find more yield, or walk. GoSiteHunt runs this calculation for you off the yield each site supports, so instead of building a spreadsheet to discover the ceiling, you see it immediately and spend your energy deciding whether to act.
A worked residual land value example
The table below walks a simplified four-townhouse site through the residual logic. Every figure is an illustrative placeholder chosen to show the method, not a market quote for any real block or region. Your own costs, values and margin will differ, and that is exactly the point, the framework stays constant while the inputs change with the address.
| Line item | Basis (illustrative) | Amount (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross realisation | 4 townhouses × $620,000 | $2,480,000 |
| Less construction cost | 4 × $320,000 build | −$1,280,000 |
| Less professional & council fees | ~8% of build | −$102,000 |
| Less selling & marketing | ~3% of realisation | −$74,000 |
| Less finance & holding | Interest over program | −$96,000 |
| Less developer profit | 20% margin on cost/realisation | −$378,000 |
| Residual land value | The most to pay for the block | ≈$550,000 |
Illustrative only. These placeholder numbers demonstrate the residual method and are not a valuation, cost estimate or forecast for any specific site.
Read the bottom line as a decision rule. In this illustration, roughly $550,000 is the ceiling. A block listed at $500,000 leaves margin to absorb surprises; one at $650,000 needs a fifth dwelling, cheaper construction or a stronger end value before it works, and if none of those are real, the answer is no. That is the GO or NO-GO discipline in one number, and it is the number GoSiteHunt puts in front of you first.
What GoSiteHunt screens for an address
Enter any address and GoSiteHunt returns an instant development screen. The inputs it reads and the outputs it produces map directly onto the feasibility questions above.
| What it reads | What it returns | Why it matters for townhouses |
|---|---|---|
| Address & parcel | Zoning and what you can build | Confirms townhouses are a permitted or likely use |
| Site area & shape | Estimated dwelling and lot yield | Sets how many units the block can hold |
| Local values & costs | Development feasibility | Tests whether the yield actually pays |
| Feasibility inputs | Residual land value | The most you should pay for the land |
| All of the above | GO / NO-GO screen | A fast triage verdict before deep work |
Because a single site report costs one credit and the workflow takes seconds, you can screen a whole shortlist in an afternoon rather than a fortnight. GoSiteHunt also finds candidate townhouse sites by suburb and type, scans whole areas at five credits a scan, checks subdivision potential, and watches development applications near an address so you see what neighbours are lodging. There is an owner side too: if you hold land, it can tell you what your site is worth and let you sell off-market direct to developers, including sell-together amalgamation with adjoining owners.
How GoSiteHunt helps you screen townhouse sites
The fastest way to understand the tool is to use it on a real address, but here is where each piece fits into a townhouse workflow:
Residual land value
Model the maximum land price for two, three or four dwellings.
Zoning lookup
Confirm the zone and what it allows before ordering a report.
How many townhouses fit
Get a quick indicative dwelling count for a block.
Subdivision potential
See whether a site can be split before you dig deeper.
Development site finder
Find townhouse-ready blocks by suburb and type.
Prefer to go deeper first? The guide to calculating residual land value walks through the method line by line, the guide to finding development sites covers sourcing, and the how it works page shows the end-to-end flow from search to verdict. If you want to see how GoSiteHunt stacks up against other tools, the feasibility software comparison lays out where it fits, and if you develop in South Australia, the Adelaide page is a good local starting point.
Where GoSiteHunt is different
Most feasibility tools are single-country, single-function, or priced for enterprise teams. GoSiteHunt is the opposite on all three counts. It is global, working across 70-plus countries with the same address-in, verdict-out flow. It is end-to-end, taking you from finding a site, to feasibility, to the maximum land price, to a GO or NO-GO call, rather than solving one slice. And it is instant and affordable, with a free start of 50 trial credits so you can screen properly before spending a cent. That combination lets a solo developer or a lean acquisitions desk run the screening volume that used to need a team and a stack of spreadsheets.
Screening, not advice. GoSiteHunt outputs are indicative screening signals to help you triage sites quickly. They are not valuation, planning, financial or legal advice. Always confirm planning controls, market evidence, build costs and finance with qualified professionals before you commit to a site.
Frequently asked questions
- What is townhouse development feasibility?
- It is the test of whether a block can profitably support multiple attached dwellings. It combines the planning question, does the zone and site area allow the yield you need, with the money question, does the finished value minus build costs, margin and holding costs leave enough to justify the land price. GoSiteHunt screens both from an address in seconds and returns a residual land value plus a GO or NO-GO signal.
- How do you calculate residual land value for townhouses?
- Work backwards from the finished product. Take the total gross realisation of the townhouses, subtract construction and professional costs, subtract selling and holding costs, then subtract the developer profit margin you require. What remains is the most you can pay for the land and still hit your target return. GoSiteHunt runs this residual automatically for the yield each site supports.
- How many townhouses can I fit on a block?
- Dwelling yield depends on site area, frontage, the zone, setbacks, minimum lot sizes and access. GoSiteHunt estimates likely dwelling and lot yield for an address as part of its instant screen, and the how many townhouses fit tool gives a quick indicative count to sense-check a block before deeper design work.
- Does GoSiteHunt work outside Australia?
- Yes. It returns zoning, yield, feasibility and residual land value for addresses across 70-plus countries. The workflow is identical everywhere: enter an address, get an instant screen, then confirm local planning controls and market evidence before committing.
- Is a GoSiteHunt feasibility a formal valuation?
- No. Outputs are indicative screening signals designed to help you triage sites quickly and cheaply. They are not valuation, planning, financial or legal advice. Always confirm the detail with qualified professionals before you commit to a purchase.
- How much does it cost to check a townhouse site?
- You can start free with 50 trial credits. A single site report costs one credit and an area scan costs five. Paid add-ons include a $49 vendor's report, Deal Flow alerts from $49 per month, and a DocFlow planning report at $249 instant or $990 planner-reviewed.
- How is this different from a spreadsheet feasibility?
- A spreadsheet needs you to hand-enter zoning, yield, costs and values for every block, one at a time. GoSiteHunt pulls the planning and yield picture from the address automatically and runs the residual instantly, so you screen dozens of sites in the time a spreadsheet takes for one, then reserve the deep model for the shortlist. See the full FAQ for more.
Screen your next townhouse site
Stop modelling blocks you already like and start pricing them. Run an address, read the yield, read the residual, and get a straight GO or NO-GO before you make an offer.
Run a free site check Calculate max land price