Exploring the value of OpenLot’s Buyer Index
In today’s dynamic residential construction market, getting the right product to the right buyer is critical to success. Yet many builders and marketers are still relying on outdated data, old assumptions, and anecdotal feedback to inform some of their biggest decisions.
The reality is that buyer demand changes rapidly as we’ve seen, much of this driven by evolving financial conditions, land supply shifts, lifestyle preferences, and broader social trends.
This is where tools like the OpenLot Buyer Index are becoming increasingly valuable. Rather than guessing what buyers want, builders can now access suburb-level demand data to guide decisions across product design, sales, marketing, and even land developer negotiations.
Crucially, the Buyer Index draws on demand signals going all the way back to 2020, giving builders the ability to analyse both current trends and longer-term shifts in buyer behaviour.
We explored the Buyer Index and here is how builders and marketing leaders can use this tool to build a sharper, more responsive strategy.
Buying Purpose: Understand Why Buyers Are Entering the Market
The Buyer Index allows builders to filter demand by Buying Purpose, showing whether buyers are seeking:
- Owner-occupier homes
- First homes
- Investment properties
- Knockdown rebuild opportunities
This insight fundamentally changes how product is positioned and marketed. The value proposition for an owner-occupier is very different from that of an investor, and marketing should reflect this accordingly.
Land Size: Aligning Designs with Available Stock
Land supply and sizing vary significantly between suburbs. The Land Size filter reveals what lot sizes buyers are searching for. Builders can use this data to:
- Ensure designs are suitable for actual lot dimensions
- Optimise house and land packaging
- Avoid promoting incompatible floorplans in markets with limited land depth or frontage
Land Settlement: Anticipating Buyer Readiness
The Land Settlement tab shows buyers’ intended land settlement timeframe. Builders can segment marketing and sales efforts between:
- Buyers ready to build now
- Those settling land within six to twelve months
- Those planning longer term
This allows for more targeted lead management and campaign timing, helping builders better match construction capacity with likely demand.
Building Type: What Buyers Want to Build
The Building Type data reveals whether buyers are leaning towards:
- Single-storey homes
- Double-storey homes
This can significantly influence display home selection, product mix, and marketing content. A builder promoting predominantly double-storey homes in a suburb with single-storey demand is likely to see reduced conversion.
Floorplans: In-Demand Internal Layouts
The Floorplans tab is one of the most actionable features of the Buyer Index. It provides live insights into buyer preferences for:
- Bedroom configurations
- Garage sizing
- Internal layout styles
Builders can use this to refine their design range, prioritise floorplans in display centres, and shape content marketing to match demand.
Amenities: What is Driving Lifestyle Demand
Understanding which amenities are influencing buyer decisions is crucial. The Amenities filter allows builders to see whether buyers are prioritising proximity to:
- Schools
- Transport links
- Retail precincts
- Parks and green space
Marketing messages can then be crafted to align with these lifestyle drivers, helping sales teams connect with buyer motivations more effectively.
Residency Status: Local or Relocating Buyers
The Residency Status data shows whether buyers are local to the suburb, from surrounding areas, or relocating from further afield. This enables builders to:
- Refine messaging for relocation buyers versus local upgraders
- Target digital campaigns geographically
- Inform partnership decisions with local agents and services
Financial Status: Sensitivity and Readiness to Buy
The Financial Status filter provides insight into whether buyers are:
- Purchasing with cash
- Using finance
- First-time buyers relying on grants
Builders can adjust pricing strategies, promotions, and sales approaches accordingly. For example, high levels of first-home buyers may indicate demand for affordability-focused designs.
Building Budget: Pricing Intelligence
The Building Budget filter is invaluable for marketing teams and product planners. It shows what budget range buyers are working within. This supports:
- Pricing strategy refinement
- Targeted promotion of suitable product ranges
- Smarter allocation of sales resources
Builders can avoid promoting higher-cost homes in price-sensitive markets and instead focus their efforts where they align with demand.
Timeframe to Buy: Prioritising Sales Effort
Knowing when buyers intend to purchase helps sales managers prioritise effort and allocate resources. The Timeframe to Buy data allows builders to segment leads into:
- Immediate opportunities
- Medium-term pipeline
- Long-term nurture campaigns
This improves both sales conversion rates and customer experience.
Postcode of Origin: Optimising Marketing Targeting
Finally, the Postcode of Origin filter reveals where buyers are coming from geographically. This insight can be used to:
- Geo-target digital campaigns with precision
- Identify new feeder markets
- Support relocation-focused marketing content
Builders often discover opportunities to tap into demand from postcodes they were not previously targeting.
Why This Matters
Many builders invest heavily in design, display homes, and marketing, but too often these decisions are based on incomplete data. The OpenLot Buyer Index gives builders and marketing managers a clear, evidence-based view of what the market actually wants.
By using this tool:
- Design teams can shape product ranges that fit demand
- Sales leaders can optimise conversion strategies
- Marketing managers can target campaigns with greater precision
- Builders can strengthen land developer partnerships with proven insights
And with data extending back to 2020, builders can also track how demand patterns have evolved over time, an increasingly valuable capability in a market where conditions can change rapidly.
In a competitive environment, data-driven builders will outperform those relying on guesswork. The Buyer Index is an excellent resource to support this shift toward evidence-based decision making.
Explore the tool here: OpenLot Buyer Index — and consider how your team could be using it to gain an edge.
