Development Profit Calculator

Work out development profit instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Development Profit Calculator

Development appraisal starts from gross development value, the expected sale or investment value of the finished scheme, and deducts land, construction and a percentage for professional fees, finance and marketing. Profit is quoted both on cost and on gross development value, and lenders usually want at least twenty percent on cost.

Formulas

Development profit

Profit = GDV - (land + construction + other costs)

Profit measures

Profit on cost = profit / total cost; profit on GDV = profit / GDV

Worked example

With the default values below, Development Profit Calculator returns Development profit of $8,560,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Gross development valueminimum 0.01: 50,000,000
Land costminimum 0: 12,000,000
Construction costminimum 0: 25,000,000
Fees, finance and marketingaccepts 0–50 %: 12 %

Results

Development profit: $8,560,000.00
Total development cost: $41,440,000.00
Profit on cost: 20.66% %
Profit on gross development value: 17.12% %

Step by step

1Values used
2Development profit
3Profit measures
4Development profit= 8,560,000.00
5Total development cost= 41,440,000.00
6Profit on cost= 20.66 %
7Profit on gross development value= 17.12 %

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Development Profit figure worked out?

Profit = GDV - (land + construction + other costs). Development appraisal starts from gross development value, the expected sale or investment value of the finished scheme, and deducts land, construction and a percentage for professional fees, finance and marketing.

Why quote profit two ways?

Profit on cost measures the return on money deployed and is what lenders test. Profit on GDV measures the margin for error in the sales assumption, which is the risk the developer actually carries.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 4 inputs: Gross development value, Land cost, Construction cost, Fees, finance and marketing. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic worked example — replace them with your own site or project figures.