Short answer: you sell a condominium before it is built by giving buyers something real enough to reserve: clear floor plans and pricing, hyper-realistic renders and a walkthrough film labeled as visualizations, a launch website with a way to reserve, and a waitlist you build months before sales open. Time all of it to the presale number your lender needs, and follow your state's rules on what you can advertise and when.

This is the sequence we run. On a West Loop, Chicago launch it reserved 22 of 48 units before groundbreaking, from 180 qualified buyer leads and no cold calls, before a single photo of the finished building could exist.

Why presales decide the project

Many construction lenders want to see a share of units under contract before they fund. That makes the presale window the most valuable marketing period of the whole project: buyers are deciding on a building they cannot visit, against competitors that may already have a sales gallery. Work backward from the date your lender needs the number, and the marketing calendar writes itself.

The five stages buyers see

Visualization generated for illustration. Not a photo of a built project.

What makes a render sell

Buyers do not reserve a pretty picture. They reserve a view, a kitchen and a light they can imagine living with. The renders that move reservations share four things:

• The real view from the real floor. Built from site photography at the right height, not a generic skyline.

• The actual finish schedule. The stone, wood and fixtures in the contract, so nothing disappoints at handover.

• Honest light. The orientation and hours the unit really gets.

• A clear label. Every image marked as a visualization. Buyers trust renders more when you are upfront that they are renders.

Visualization: interior render with the view from the residence's own floor.

Today we generate hyper-realistic renders and walkthrough videos from your drawings, finishes and real site views. Once construction starts, our own crew replaces them step by step with film and photography of the real building.

Illustrative image of construction filming.

The rules to plan around

• New York: condominium sponsors follow the Attorney General's rules before offering units. Testing the market before an offering plan is accepted goes through a CPS-1 filing, and binding contracts wait for the accepted plan.

• California: most new condominium projects need a public report from the Department of Real Estate before sales contracts are signed.

• Everywhere: label renderings as renderings, keep prices and availability current, and keep advertising consistent with your offering documents.

This is a planning summary, not legal advice. Confirm the current rules with your counsel before launch.

A presale timeline that works

What it costs

Our full launch programs run $8,000 to $25,000 a month, launch websites $25,000 to $50,000 and films $15,000 to $50,000, all published on our pricing page. Renders and walkthroughs are scoped with the launch. Across the market, condo marketing budgets commonly land at 1% to 1.5% of projected sellout.

Questions

Can you sell condos before construction starts?

Yes, where your state allows it and once the required filings are in place. Most developers open reservations or a waitlist first, then sign contracts when the offering documents are approved.

Are AI renders allowed in real estate marketing?

Yes, as long as they are clearly labeled as visualizations and match what you are actually building. They should never be presented as photos of a finished building.

How early should presale marketing start?

About six months before sales open, so the brand, renders, website and waitlist are ready on day one.

What is the difference between a render and a walkthrough film?

A render is a still image of one view. A walkthrough film moves through the residence and amenities, which works better in paid social and on sales gallery screens.

Written by Kirill Samarits, founder and CEO, and Yiannis (John) Deves, partner and COO, TERAMOK. Related: pre-construction marketing, the West Loop case study.