Property Development Feasibility Template
A detailed spreadsheet template to analyse costs, returns, and profitability for any residential development project in Sydney.
Most property development failures happen at the feasibility stage — not at the build stage. Projects that don’t pencil get pushed forward anyway because the maths was never properly done; projects that would have penciled get abandoned because no one ran the numbers far enough. The feasibility template on this page is the same eight-tab spreadsheet Buildana uses internally before we’ll sign a preliminary agreement on a development project: land acquisition through to net profit on sale, with every line item that a bank, a JV partner or your accountant will ask about.
It’s designed for owner-developers running their first or second project, small-scale developers comparing two or three sites against each other, and investors testing whether a duplex, granny flat or townhouse build actually returns above the cost of capital. The template is pre-loaded with real 2026 Sydney rates — Rawlinsons-derived construction costs by suburb, current council contribution rates for the five Western Sydney LGAs, and comparable sale prices indexed off recent transactions. Drop your land price and lot size into column B; the whole stack rebuilds in under a minute.
You don’t need a finance background to use it. The tabs walk through the questions in the order they get asked — site cost, build cost, fees, council, holding, revenue, hold strategy, summary — with notes and example values in every cell that needs explanation. If you want a faster path, the live Feasibility Check calculator runs a simplified version of the same logic without a download.
What’s Included
This template is the same feasibility framework Buildana uses to assess development projects across Western Sydney. It covers every line item from land purchase through to final profit analysis.
How to Use It
- Download the Google Sheets or Excel template below
- Enter your land purchase price and acquisition costs
- Fill in construction costs (or use our Building Cost Calculator for estimates)
- Add professional fees, council contributions, and holding costs
- Review the auto-calculated yield, profit margin, and ROI
- Use the summary tab to compare multiple scenarios
Want a done-for-you feasibility?
Buildana offers free feasibility assessments for residential developments in Western Sydney. We'll assess your site, estimate costs, and project returns — no obligation.
Book Free AssessmentRun Feasibility Check
Free — no sign-up required. Use our live calculator, no download needed.
Open Feasibility CalculatorWorks on desktop and mobile
Related Tools
Sheet by sheet
What’s inside the template.
Eight tabs. Each one answers a different question a banker, partner, or accountant will ask before they release a dollar.
01 — Site & Acquisition
What does the land actually cost me by settlement day?
Purchase price, stamp duty, conveyancing, due diligence, mortgage establishment, 6.5% NSW first-time-developer overhead.
02 — Construction Cost
What does the build cost line-by-line?
Pulls Rawlinsons rates by suburb. Splits structure, fit-out, external works. Auto-flags trades where Sydney rates currently run 12–18% above national.
03 — Professional Fees
Who else gets paid before a brick is laid?
Architect, structural, hydraulic, BASIX, surveyor, town planner, BCA, certifier, energy assessor. Sample fees from our 2026 supplier panel.
04 — Council & Statutory
How much does council take?
Section 7.11/7.12 contributions, long-service levy, water/sewer headworks, DA fees. Pre-loaded for Fairfield, Liverpool, Cumberland, Blacktown, Canterbury-Bankstown.
05 — Holding Costs
What does waiting cost me each month?
Construction interest, rates, insurance, security, vacant-land tax. Auto-scales with your timeline cell.
06 — Revenue Modelling
What does the project return on sale or hold?
Gross sale price (comparable suburb sales pre-loaded), GST margin scheme, agent fees, marketing, conveyancing on sale.
07 — Hold Strategy
What if I keep one and sell the other?
Rent per dwelling, vacancy, management, maintenance reserve, refinance LVR. Auto-calculates 5- and 10-year net yield.
08 — Summary & Scenarios
Which version of this project actually pays?
Side-by-side comparison of build-to-sell, build-to-hold, and mixed strategy. Sensitivity slider on cost, sale price, and interest rate.
A real example
Smithfield duplex, 612m² block.
Real numbers from a feasibility we ran in February. Not a hypothetical. Land settled at $1.05M, two 4-bed dwellings, Torrens title.
| Land + acquisition costs | $1,127,800 |
| Build cost — 2 × 280m² @ $2,650/m² | $1,484,000 |
| Professional fees + approvals | $96,400 |
| Council contributions (Fairfield 7.12) | $31,200 |
| Holding costs (14-month program) | $118,500 |
| Contingency @ 5% | $142,800 |
| Total project cost | $3,000,700 |
| Gross sale (2 × $1.78M comparable) | $3,560,000 |
| Selling costs + GST margin scheme | −$184,300 |
| Net profit before tax | $375,000 (12.5% margin) |
The summary tab on the template runs this same logic. Drop your land price + suburb in column B and the whole stack rebuilds in under a minute.
Frequently asked
About this feasibility template
What level of property development experience do I need to use this?
None. The template is designed for owner-developers running a first project, with notes and example values in every cell that needs explanation. If you can use a basic spreadsheet — column B for inputs, column C reads back the result — you can run it. Investors and small developers running their fifth project will get the same value because the line items don’t change; only the numbers do.
Is this a Sydney-specific or Australia-wide template?
Pre-loaded data is Sydney-specific — Rawlinsons rates indexed for Sydney trades, council contribution rates for the five Western Sydney LGAs, and comparable suburb sale prices. The structure works for any Australian capital city, but you’ll need to overwrite the LGA-specific cells with your local council’s rates if you’re running it outside Sydney.
What types of project does the template cover?
Duplex (2-dwelling Torrens or Strata), granny flat, townhouse (3+ dwellings), boarding house under Housing SEPP 2021, and standard single-dwelling KDR. The summary tab includes pre-filled example scenarios for each. The template doesn’t cover commercial, retail or mixed-use developments — those have different finance models and the project economics need a different framework.
How accurate is the auto-calculated profit projection?
Used with reasonable inputs, expect ±10–15% accuracy against the final sale-to-cost margin. Accuracy depends most heavily on three inputs: site cost (always under-estimated), holding cost (the timeline cell is the biggest lever), and gross sale price (use a buyer’s agent comparable, not real estate listing optimism). The template surfaces these three as sensitivity drivers in the summary tab.
How does this compare to the live Feasibility Check calculator?
The live calculator runs a simplified version of the same logic — one-page input, instant output, no download. The spreadsheet template runs the full eight-tab analysis with hold-vs-sell modelling, scenario sensitivity sliders and a full cash-flow timeline. Use the live calculator for quick block triage; use the template once you’ve narrowed to one or two sites and need real cash-flow analysis.
Will a bank or finance broker accept this for a loan application?
Most non-bank development lenders and private finance brokers will accept it as the borrower’s feasibility for a construction loan application. Major banks typically require a quantity surveyor report on top of the borrower’s feasibility — the template gives you and the QS the same baseline numbers so the report aligns rather than contradicting. We can recommend QSs and brokers active in Sydney development finance if needed.
Why is the template free?
Because half of the development projects we’re asked to quote don’t pencil — and the kindest thing we can do is tell the owner that before they spend $40k on plans. Better feasibility upstream means fewer abandoned projects, fewer regretful preliminary agreements, and ultimately a higher-quality client base for us when projects do proceed. The template is part of how we run a sustainable builder business.
Can I share or modify the template for my own use?
Yes. The template is free for personal and internal commercial use — modify it, brand it, use it with your own clients. Please don’t resell it as a standalone product or strip the original credit. If you’re a finance broker, accountant or buyer’s agent wanting to embed it on your site for client use, get in touch — we’re happy to provide a co-branded version.
Planning a Development in Western Sydney?
Buildana offers free feasibility assessments for duplex, granny flat, townhouse, and boarding house developments. Fixed-price builds with no surprises.
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