The enquiry is easy to recognise and easy to mishandle. The investor has usually seen a display suite or a render. What they need is someone to explain the gap between exchange and settlement.
What the off the plan investor states
The fields are the standard ones. What sets this enquiry apart is that the budget is often a quoted price, and the timeframe a completion date they were told.
- Goal: a new apartment or townhouse, often with a project or a suburb named
- Budget range, as stated, frequently the list price of the unit they saw
- Deposit or equity position, as stated, sometimes only the exchange deposit they were quoted
- Timeframe, which is the completion date as they understand it
- Location interest: a suburb, a project, or a city they have visited
The supply behind the enquiry
Approvals set how much new stock will compete for tenants when the investor settles. The ABS counted 17,687 dwellings approved across Australia in July 2026, of which 7,119 were private sector dwellings excluding houses, on its building approvals release. New South Wales approved 4,586 dwellings that month and Victoria 4,642.
None of those numbers tells an investor whether a project is a good buy. They tell an adviser where the pipeline is thickest. An investor comparing one building to its brochure has not seen the other approvals in the same postcode.
Why is settlement risk an adviser's conversation?
An off the plan contract is exchanged now and settled later, sometimes years later. In between, the investor's finances can change, lending rules can change, and the finished unit can be valued below the contract price. The deposit is at stake if settlement fails, and most investors do not know that until someone says it.
Sunset clauses run the other way. If the project is late, the contract may be ended, and the investor is back at the start with a refund and no property. Neither risk is a reason not to buy. Both are reasons to buy with a plan, which is the conversation the investor enquired for.
What a developer or project marketer should ask before buying
A firm that sells its own stock has a different question from an independent advisory. The lead is an investor who asked for advice, and it is worth buying only if the call that follows is advice rather than a pitch. Four questions settle whether the lead fits.
- Will an adviser make the first call, or a sales consultant with a price list?
- Does the investor's stated location interest include the project's suburb or city?
- Does the stated timeframe fit the project's completion date?
- Can the firm say plainly, on the call, what happens to the deposit if settlement fails?
What we send, and what we do not say
Every lead is checked for a working Australian mobile, matched to the markets you agreed and checked for duplicates against everything already sent to you. It goes to one firm by SMS and email the moment it arrives, and it is never shared or resold. One agreed price per lead, no retainer, no lock in, no minimum term.
We make no claim about any project, and we give no financial, credit or property advice. The budget and deposit are what the investor stated, not something a lender has approved. A wrong number, duplicate, out of market enquiry or non investor is replaced or credited when flagged within five business days.