Construction Progress Updates for Off-Plan Buyers: What to Show and How Often

Off-plan buyers pay in stages for a home they cannot visit. A good progress update shows them the site, their building and their floor, on a fixed rhythm, next to the official figures your regulator already publishes.

Short answer

Give buyers one link that updates on a fixed cadence. Show the same viewpoints every time, keep earlier dates viewable, and write a few plain lines on what changed since the last update.

Treat the update as communication. Regulator filings, consultant certificates and escrow records stay the official evidence of progress. Your update should point buyers to them, never replace them or contradict them.

What buyers want to know

A buyer on a construction-linked payment plan usually has five questions:

• Is work actually happening on site?
• How far has my tower or block got?
• What does my floor look like now?
• Does the progress match the payment I am being asked for?
• Is the handover date still realistic?

Most developer updates answer the first question and skip the rest.

Why photos and percentages leave gaps

A completion percentage is a summary someone else computed. A buyer cannot see which floors it covers or what is left. A review of five Indian state RERA portals by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements found that some portals show quarterly targets and achievements as stated by the promoter, while others publish progress only as an architect's or engineer's certificate in a PDF.

Photos have the opposite problem. They show something real, but whoever holds the camera picks the frame, the angle changes each month, and a buyer cannot tell where in the building a shot was taken. Comparing this month to last month becomes guesswork.

Neither tells a buyer much about their own floor. And silence is worse than either: the same IIHS brief notes that "several builders do not update project progress information."

What regulators already require you to publish

Each of these markets already has an official progress channel. A visual update sits beside it. This is a summary of public sources as of November 2026, not legal advice. Rules change, so check your regulator's current guidance before you rely on any of it.

Dubai

Under Law No. 8 of 2007, each off-plan project has an escrow account in its own name, used only for building that project. The Dubai Land Department FAQ says payment schedules are based on completion rates, and that a buyer who receives a payment request can ask for a letter from the DLD-approved project consultant confirming the current completion percentage. Buyers can track completion percentages through the DLD website's project status service or its smart app, and can request a technical audit report for a fee. The same FAQ says developers are asked to renew the technical report once it is more than three months old.

India

Section 11 of RERA requires the promoter of a registered project to update unit inventory, project status and approvals every quarter. According to IIHS, most state rules ask for construction progress by building and floor, internal infrastructure and common areas, with photographs. MahaRERA's guidance says a missed quarterly update violates Section 11, and lists the fields promoters update, including work completion percentages for tasks and common areas.

Saudi Arabia

The Law of Selling and Leasing Off-Plan Real Estate Projects requires a separate escrow account per project, and payments out of it need a payment order signed by the developer, the consulting firm and the certified public accountant. Under the Implementing Regulations, REGA keeps a database of off-plan projects and makes progress reports and consulting firm reports public through it. REGA may ask for progress reports monthly on projects above 5,000 square meters of built-up area or 30 units, and every three months otherwise. Off-plan licensing runs through REGA's Wafi platform.

Formats compared

Most projects end up using two or three of these. Drone and time-lapse cover the outside. A floor-level format covers what buyers cannot see from the street.

A cadence plan by construction stage

Match the rhythm to the stage, and to the reporting cycle you already have, so the visual update and the official figure land together.

If your regulator cycle is quarterly, a monthly visual update means two updates between filings. That is fine, as long as the figures in your notes match the latest filed or certified ones.

How to present an update to buyers

• One link. Send the same link every time and add the new date to it. Buyers should not have to search old emails for last quarter's attachment.
• Same viewpoints. Fixed orbit heights, the same floor routes, the same starting point on each level. Comparison only works if the frame does not move.
• Plain-language notes. Three to five lines: the date, what changed, what is next, and where to find the official figure.
• Link the official source. Put the regulator's project page next to your update.
• Separate public and internal. Buyers get a reviewed edition. Remove faces, number plates, drawings and anything unsafe or sensitive before it goes out.

A note can be this short:

Tower B, captured 28 October. Slab cast on level 14. Facade glazing started on levels 2 to 5. Next: level 15 slab and glazing up to level 8. Certified completion figure: see the project page on the regulator's portal.

What not to promise:

• A completion percentage of your own that differs from the certified or filed one.
• A handover date that is not the one registered with your regulator.
• Renders presented as progress.
• "On schedule" unless your schedule says so.
• Measurements read off the visual record.

Where a dated 3D record fits, and its limits

A dated 3D record is a Gaussian splat of the site made from capture on a given day. Buyers open it in a browser and move through the structure, the facade and individual floors. Each new capture is added under its date, so earlier states stay viewable and a buyer can step back a month to see what changed.

It fits best once the structure is up and buyers start asking about their floor, which photos and drone footage do not show well.

The limits matter as much:

• It is a visual record, not a certified survey. Use it for coordination, review and communication.
• Measured planned-versus-built comparison is not part of it.
• It shows visible surfaces, not concealed work or the quality of what is inside walls.
• Areas closed for safety or active work will be missing from that date.
• Glass, thin rails and moving cranes can reconstruct poorly.
• It does not satisfy any regulator, escrow, lender or certification requirement. Those stay with your consultant, accountant and filings.

Our construction progress guide for 360 video and splats covers route design and audience control in more detail.

How a BUILT pilot works

BUILT is Real Horizons' construction-record service, currently run as a pilot. It starts with one floor or the site:

1. Scope. We agree the area, the audience and the questions the record should answer.
2. Capture. Drone orbits for structure and facade. Professional lidar scanners such as XGRIDS, walked floor by floor. Phones or 360 cameras for quick check-ins between full captures.
3. Set up the record. We process the capture into a dated, navigable 3D record, organised floor by floor, on a share link.
4. Walk your team through it. We go through the record with you in 3D before anything reaches buyers.

After the pilot, we agree a capture cadence. Each new capture is kept, so earlier dates remain viewable on the same link.

If your project is still at the design stage, FORM presents unbuilt homes, and our guide to off-plan property virtual tours covers what to commission. BUILT picks up once there is a site to capture.

Frequently asked questions

Does a 3D progress record satisfy RERA, DLD or REGA reporting?

No. Regulatory filings, consultant certificates and escrow reports have their own formats and signatories. A visual record helps buyers understand those figures. It does not replace them.

How often should developers send construction progress updates?

Monthly suits most stages. Move to every two to four weeks near handover, and make sure each update lines up with your regulator's reporting cycle.

Can buyers compare one month with the last?

Yes, if earlier captures are kept and the same viewpoints are used each time. That is the main reason to keep a dated record instead of sending new photos each month.

Related guides

• Gaussian splatting for construction progress
• Off-plan property virtual tours
• Drone Gaussian splatting flight guide
• Gaussian splatting for AEC field guide