A buyer who runs the numbers in front of you is an interested buyer

In the first round for a site in the Levante, a buyer worked out his static residual value during the call: sale price of the homes, margin, costs and construction cost. He arrived at a price per square metre of floor area below what the owner was asking.

We did not argue with his formula: we used it. With his own assumptions, if the sale price rises to the lowest price the scheme next door is advertising today, the asking price works. And with a staged payment schedule, the developer's return holds.

The static residual is the buyer's language. Whoever sells land has to speak it better than he does.

And know when the dynamic residual, which measures time and payment schedules, tells a different story. Often the price gap is not in the square metre but in the calendar.

A real case, told without names or exact locations to protect owners, buyers and partners. Guide: what a land broker does and how to choose one.