Pre-sale vs ready to move in: how to communicate each stage
Published 7 Oct 2026 · ProMLS Realty
A buyer looking at a pre-sale and a buyer looking at a finished unit are asking different questions, and your page has to answer the right ones. Most of the damage we see in development pages comes from mixing the two, or from letting the stage go out of date.
Pre-sale: the buyer is buying a promise
What they need is reasons to trust it.
- Who is building it and what they have already delivered.
- A realistic timeline with the date you last confirmed it.
- Payment plan and what the deposit secures. Put it in plain language.
- Renders and plans, plus real photos of the site and the neighborhood.
- Construction updates. A dated photo every month does more than a perfect render.
Under construction: show progress
- Dated progress photos and, if you can, a short video of the site.
- The units that are still available, updated when one sells.
- Any change to the delivery date, said early. A buyer forgives a delay that is announced; he does not forgive one he finds out about.
Ready to move in: the buyer wants certainty
- Real photos of the actual units, not renders.
- Immediate availability and a clear price.
- Maintenance fee and what it includes, and whether the building can be rented.
- A way to visit, in person or by video call.
The delivery date problem
Dates expire. In an internal review of Condos Vallarta on 3 October 2026, we found 13 developments whose delivery date had already passed. They were not deleted: each was flagged for review so a new date gets confirmed, and a weekly check now looks for new ones. A page that says "delivery: June 2026" in October looks abandoned, even if the project is going well.
A rule that works: show a delivery quarter, not a day; write the date of the last confirmation next to it; and review every development once a month.
How to word it
- Say "estimated delivery" and give the quarter.
- Say what is confirmed and what is not.
- Do not use "ready soon" or "last units" without data to support it.
Next: the development page checklist and a 90-day launch calendar.