Know what you can build before you bid.
Before you bid, see the zone, the overlays and the likely approval pathway in Properties, then get a Planning pack or quotes through Marketplace.
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The auction's Saturday. You rang the council on Wednesday and nobody's called back, and nobody will before then. Put the address into Properties instead and you'll get the zone, what the council allows on the block, the overlays over it and the likely approval pathway, in the words a person would actually use. Where the controls are mapped you'll see the envelope too: height, storeys, setbacks, site coverage, garden area, parking. This is site information and nothing more. No valuation, and nobody here tells you what to bid. If you buy it and take it further, Planning assembles a pack you lodge yourself on the NSW Planning Portal, and Marketplace is where you invite a builder to price the work.
Urban Pulse is an Australian construction platform: site intelligence, town planning, contractor marketplace, Send & Sign, and project management in one workspace.
Find out what the block allows before you bid
An agent can tell you the land size. Properties tells you the rest, from the address alone: the zone and its name, what the council allows there, the overlays that apply, and the likely approval pathway, written the way a person would say it.
Where we can't match the address to a property, you see nothing. No zone, and no default dropped in to look like an answer. Where it matches but the council's own controls aren't mapped, the figures are the state scheme's default and are labelled as that rather than as your council's schedule. Any overlay layer we didn't read is listed as Not checked, and Not checked is a question for your own adviser rather than an all-clear.
Where the controls are mapped you get the building envelope with it: maximum height, maximum storeys, front, side and rear setbacks, maximum site coverage, minimum garden area and car parking. Path Advisor names the likely route, complying development, a development application, or exempt, and what would push a plan into a full DA. Want it in writing before auction day? That is a Preliminary Planning Investigation.
None of this is planning advice, and none of it is a valuation. Urban Pulse doesn't price a property and won't tell you what it's worth. What it does is stop you bidding on an assumption.
Get a builder or consultant to price it
Once you know what the block allows, the next real number is what the work costs. Marketplace is invitation-only: you invite the builders or consultants you want, they quote, you compare and you award. There's no open board, and nobody you didn't ask will ring you.
Licence, insurance and ABN are recorded on each profile, so you read them beside the quote. Recorded isn't verified, and your own checks still matter. Free covers a stub profile and three quotes a month.
See what a development application would involve
Adding a second storey, or putting a granny flat out the back, is a different question from whether the paperwork is realistic. Planning assembles a ready-to-lodge development application pack from what you supply and hands it over as a PDF. You lodge it yourself on the NSW Planning Portal and mark it as lodged in Urban Pulse.
The platform never lodges for you and never promises the council will say yes. Knowing the pathway before auction day is the point.
From the listing to the whole block
A listing describes what's already built. This answers the other question, before the auction rather than after it.
The zone from the address
Enter an address and read the zone and zone name, what the council allows there, the overlays we read and the likely approval pathway.
The envelope where it is mapped
Maximum height and storeys, front, side and rear setbacks, site coverage, garden area and car parking.
A written read before auction day
A Preliminary Planning Investigation is an indicative written read of the site. It is not planning advice and it is not an approval.
A pack you lodge yourself
Planning assembles the development application pack as a ready-to-lodge PDF. You lodge it on the NSW Planning Portal.
Quotes from people you invited
Marketplace is invitation only. You invite the builders or consultants you want, they quote, and nobody else contacts you.
Credentials you can read
Licence, insurance and ABN are recorded on each profile. Recorded is not verified, so your own checks still matter.
From an address to a decision
Start with the address
Properties returns the zone, what the council allows, the overlays we read and the likely approval pathway in plain English.
Read the envelope
Where the controls are mapped you also get height, storeys, setbacks, site coverage, garden area and parking.
Get it in writing
A Preliminary Planning Investigation is an indicative written read of the site, to be confirmed with a registered planner.
Price the work
Invite a builder or consultant in Marketplace, compare the quotes, and award if you decide to go ahead.
Lodge it yourself
Planning assembles the pack and you lodge on the NSW Planning Portal, then record the lodgement against the job.
The same purchase, with the facts
Bidding on what somebody said the block could take.
Bidding on the zone, the overlays we read and the likely pathway.
A council website and four PDFs the night before the auction.
The address, in plain English, whenever you want to read it.
Cold calls from trades you never asked to hear from.
Quotes only from the builders and consultants you invited.
What buyers ask
What do I get for an address?
The zone and zone name, what the council allows there, the overlays we read and the likely approval pathway. Where the controls are mapped, add the envelope: height and storeys, the front, side and rear setbacks, site coverage, garden area and parking. Figures drawn from the state scheme's default are labelled as that.
Which states can I check an address in?
Seven: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. If the property is in New South Wales the mapped overlays come with it, and no other state gives you that. A Queensland address is read against that council's own rules. The Northern Territory is not live.
Is this planning advice I can rely on at auction?
No. It's site information taken from published planning data, and Urban Pulse doesn't value the property or tell you what to bid. A Preliminary Planning Investigation gives you an indicative written read built from public planning data and what you say you want to do. Confirm it with a registered planner.
If I buy it, who lodges the development application?
You do. Planning assembles the pack and gives it to you as a ready-to-lodge PDF, then you lodge it on the NSW Planning Portal and mark it as lodged. Urban Pulse never lodges for you, and nobody on the platform promises that the council will approve anything.
Can I get a builder to price the work before I commit?
Yes, by invitation. In Marketplace you invite the builders or consultants you choose, they quote, you compare and you award. Nobody you didn't invite will contact you. Licence, insurance and ABN are recorded on each profile, and you still make your own checks before you sign.
People also ask
How do I find out what I can build on a property before I bid?
Enter the address in Urban Pulse and Properties returns the zone and zone name, what the council allows, the overlays it read and the likely approval pathway, plus the building envelope where the controls are mapped. Figures drawn from the state scheme's default are labelled as that, and layers that were not read are listed as Not checked.
Does a listing tell you what a site allows?
A listing describes what is already built. Urban Pulse answers the other question from the address itself: the zone, what the council allows on the site, the overlays and the likely approval pathway, in plain English from published planning data. It is site information rather than planning advice, and it is not a valuation of the property.
What is a Preliminary Planning Investigation?
A Preliminary Planning Investigation is a written read of a site from Urban Pulse. It checks what you have in mind against public planning data and your stated intent, and reports whether it is permitted, what envelope applies and the conditions to expect. It is indicative, it is not planning advice, it is not an approval, and a registered planner should confirm it.
Walk in knowing what the block takes.
A work email is all we take. Nothing gets created and no plan starts. We'll let you know when you can read a block before you bid on it.
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