Residential development feasibility, the practical guide

How residential feasibilities are structured

Residential development feasibilities follow the same structure regardless of typology: site, scheme, revenue, cost, finance, outputs, cashflow. The differences are in the detail, apartments need component-level construction rates, townhouses need staging, and mixed-use needs separate revenue lines.

Apartments

For build-to-sell apartments, the binding inputs are usually unit pricing (by type and floor), construction rate per m² of GFA, and statutory contributions. Profit on cost target sits at 18–22%, with development margin in the 15–18% range.

Townhouses

Townhouse projects break into stages and sell down progressively. The IRR usually runs higher than apartments because equity is released earlier, even if profit on cost is similar.

Scenarios

Run at least three scenarios, base, conservative, optimistic, and read them side by side. Lock the base case for IC; use the others as the sensitivity range.