A reservation in month one is not a closed unit at occupancy. The building is not there. Between those two dates, the buyer is living with a PDF, a competing project, and whatever they last heard from you. If they cannot open their unit again — same stack number, live price, still available — they start shopping the one that will let them.
Keeping them is not a new brochure. It is three things that stay true every month of the build. Their unit is still on the site. Follow-up did not stop after the first night. The sales team can pick up and already know which unit, whether it is still open, and whether they came back. Same-night follow-up starts that picture — see what follow-up should include. This page is the months after.
If any of those three goes dark, you are re-selling a unit you thought you had. On a 10–50 unit stack, that is a month, not a rounding error.
What they took home in week one is a still. Price moved. A unit they liked went on hold. A new building opened down the street. The file on their phone does not know any of that. When they open it in month four they see last quarter's look, not whether 4B is still theirs.
The site has to answer the same three questions every time they come back: which unit, at what price, is it still open. That is the job of the live building — see what a digital twin is for pre-construction— not a new rendering drop. If the only thing they have is the first PDF, they will use someone else's site to check.
| Through the build | What loses them |
|---|---|
| Their unit, live price, still open | A PDF from week one |
| Follow-up that did not stop after night one | Silence until the sales office opens |
| Sales team already knows the unit | “So what were you looking at?” |
A 10–50 unit project cannot treat a reservation as finished work. The months of the build are when they decide whether they still want it. Give them their unit to reopen, or they will reopen someone else's.
A cancelled reservation is not a free retry. You spend the month again: ads, the sales team's time, and interest on the loan while that unit sits. On a typical boutique $10M–$15M construction loan at about 8%, monthly interest is loan × rate ÷ 12 — about $67k–$100k to the bank. A $12M loan at 8% is $80,000 a month. Re-selling two units that went cold is how a 24-unit building slips a month you thought you had.
The lender still wants 50–70% of revenue under qualifying contracts. A walk-away that was in that count is a hole in the draw. See how many units you need to pre-sell. After completion, leftover units keep the loan running. See how long a 20–40 unit sell-out takes.
Planpoint platform data on comparable pre-construction developments: 31% faster unit sell-through, 49% more qualified leads, 3x buyer engagement. That is platform data on comparable projects, not a promise that nobody walks. Your scoreboard is extra months on your loan. Run the calculator.
Their unit stays on the site — live price, still open. Follow-up does not stop after the first night. The sales team already knows which unit before they call. A PDF from week one will not hold them.
It starts the picture. The months of the build still need the live unit and a sales team that knows which one. Follow-up that dies after night one is how they go cold in month four.
You spend the month again. On a typical boutique $10M–$15M loan at about 8%, monthly interest is loan × rate ÷ 12 — about $67k–$100k. A walk-away that was in the 50–70% revenue count is a hole in the draw.
