First Steps with Building Simulator

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Introduction

This article provides an overview of the Building Simulator tool (Simulations), which allows real estate developers to simulate the price and rent of any combination of units in just a few clicks.

Use cases for the Building Simulator include:

• Generating different pricing grids based on various possible unit configurations within a development

• Analyzing price variations across different unit types on each floor

• Validating or challenging your pricing assumptions with your knowledge of the local market

• Saving time in preparing a developer’s financial plan

Table of contents

1. Create a simulation or a layout strategy
2. Fill in the table with the unit composition
3. Result displayed as an ultra-granular pricing grid
4. Export layout strategies

The main features of the tool are:

• Pricing grid simulation: Estimate prices and rents across different configurations until you find the optimal strategy.

• In-depth analysis: Refine the impact of different scenarios (surface area, unit type, balcony, parking, etc.) on market rent and sale price.

• Excel export: Export an Excel version of the pricing and rent grid in one click once the analysis is complete.

1. Create a simulation or a layout strategy

• Step 1:
  From Building Simulator (Simulations), click on Create simulation.

• Step 2:
  Enter the address and all the characteristics of the future real estate project.

• ⚠️ Note: Only the fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory

The following fields can be filled in:

• Address: The address of the building to be analyzed.

• Title: The title of the simulation, making it easier to identify the analysis (for example, the building’s address).

• Number of floors: The total number of floors in the building, including the ground floor but excluding unfinished levels.

• Year of construction: The year the property was built. You can enter up to N+3 as the delivery year, with N being the current year.

• Maximum surface area (m²): The total surface area of the project in m².

• Elevator: Tick this box if the building has an elevator.

• New building: Tick this box if the building is new.

2. Fill in the table with the unit composition

At this stage, you can start imagining and testing different layout strategies.

Enter the characteristics of the unit types, for example:

• 6 studios of 25 m² with a 5 m² balcony

• 4 one-bedroom units (T2) of 40 m² with a 7 m² balcony and 1 parking space

• 4 two-bedroom units (T3) of 57 m² with a 7 m² balcony and 2 parking spaces … etc.

Once the table is completed, click on the Run valuations button at the far right of the left panel.

⚠️ Note: At any time, rows can be added or deleted as needed.
 

3. Result displayed as an ultra-granular pricing grid

It is possible to display prices per m² and to switch from the market price map to the rent map (Net rent or Gross rent).

You also get an average price per m² for the project and a total price (the sum of the prices of all units).

4. Export layout strategies

Once the layout strategy has been defined, you can export your pricing grid to your workspace in Excel format.

To do this, click on the Export to Excel button at the bottom of the pricing grid.

This feature allows you to keep a record of your layout strategy and to further adjust prices within your personal workspace.

⚠️ Note: You can create as many layout strategies as you wish for the same address.

Then return to 2: Fill in the table with the unit composition, and click on the Reset values button.