To convert display home visitors into building contracts, capture every visitor group’s details and project stage on the day, then book a second appointment within 7 days. No Australian body publishes a display-to-contract rate. In our labelled model, 200 visitor groups a month produce 0.9 to 12.25 contracts depending on four stage rates.
At a glance: converting display home visitors
Display home conversion depends on four stage rates, and the first one, capturing who walked through, is the one most builders never measure.
- The four stages: visitor group → details captured → second appointment (land and floor plan) → paid preliminary or tender step → signed building contract.
- The asset on this page: the Display Follow-Up Clock (what to send on day 0, 1, 3, 7, 30 and 90) and a worked visitor-to-contract funnel in three assumption bands.
- Market context: the ABS counted 10,885 private sector houses approved in August 2026, seasonally adjusted, up 18.4% on a year earlier.
- The NSW rule that changes your count: contracts over $20,000 carry a cooling-off period of five clear business days, and the deposit cannot exceed 10%.
- What we could not find: any published Australian benchmark for display-visitor-to-contract conversion. Every rate below is an assumption to replace with yours.
How it works
From display walk-through to signed building contract
Capture every visitor group
After the walk-through, ask where they want to build, whether they own land and when they want to start. Tag their stage.
Follow up on day 0
Send an SMS the same afternoon with the floor plan they liked. Call the next day to offer a plan meeting.
Book the plan meeting
Offer two specific times by day 7 to put their block on your plan. Hold the meeting and move to a paid preliminary step.
Sign and see it through
Count the contract as won after the cooling-off period. Keep in touch through those five business days.
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How many display home visitors become building contracts?
Display home visitor conversion to a signed contract ranges from 0.45% to 6.1% in our three-band model, and most of the gap comes from capture and second-appointment rates.
| Stage (all rates are assumptions) | Low band | Mid band | High band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor groups through the display a month | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| Details and project stage captured | 30% = 60 | 50% = 100 | 70% = 140 |
| Second appointment booked and held | 10% = 6 | 15% = 15 | 25% = 35 |
| Paid preliminary or tender step | 30% = 1.8 | 40% = 6 | 50% = 17.5 |
| Signed building contract | 50% = 0.9 | 60% = 3.6 | 70% = 12.25 |
| Visitor-to-contract rate | 0.45% | 1.8% | 6.1% |
Build the table from your own month: count groups at the door (not people), count registrations, and tag each one with a stage such as “owns land”, “buying land” or “just looking”. The stage tag is what lets the follow-up below be specific. Our guide to how custom home builders get ready-to-build clients sets out the qualifying gates in detail; this page is about the display visitor only.
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What is one extra captured display visitor worth?
One extra captured display visitor group is worth 0.036 signed contracts in the mid band; lifting capture from 50% to 70% adds about 1.44 contracts a month.
The arithmetic: 15% book a second appointment, 40% of those take the paid step, and 60% of those sign, so 0.15 × 0.40 × 0.60 = 0.036. Forty more captured groups × 0.036 = 1.44 contracts. At an assumed $400,000 contract value, that is about $576,000 of contracted work a month from the same weekend traffic, with no extra advertising. Capture is the cheapest stage to fix because the visitor is standing in front of you: a tablet registration with three questions (where they want to build, whether they own land, when they want to start) captures more than a guest book on the bench.
The Display Follow-Up Clock: when to contact a display home visitor
The Display Follow-Up Clock is a fixed contact schedule of day 0, 1, 3, 7, 30 and 90, where each touch delivers something specific to the visitor’s stage.
| Day | Channel | What to send or say | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0, same afternoon | SMS | Thank them, name the design they spent longest in, attach its floor plan | Prove you listened; get a reply |
| Day 1 | Phone call | Ask the three stage questions you missed; offer a 45-minute plan meeting | Book the second appointment |
| Day 3 | The thing they asked about: site cost checklist, facade options, inclusions list | Stay useful while they visit other builders | |
| Day 7 | Phone or SMS | A specific time offer: “Saturday 10am or Tuesday 5pm to put your block on the plan?” | Last strong push for the appointment |
| Day 30 | SMS | One question: “Still planning to build this year, or later?” | Re-tag the stage; restart if ready |
| Day 90 | Email and SMS | New release design or price change relevant to their stage | Keep “just looking” visitors on your list |
The schedule is our recommended structure, not a measured benchmark; test your own day-7 booking rate against it. Speed matters most on day 0 and day 1, because a family who visited six displays on Saturday is comparing six builders by Monday. Our guide to speed to lead for trade businesses covers response time in more depth.
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When is a display home sale actually won in NSW?
A NSW display home sale is not won at signature, because contracts over $20,000 carry a cooling-off period of five clear business days.
The NSW Government’s home building contracts guidance also says the deposit must not exceed 10% of the contract price, that builders on jobs over $20,000 must have home building compensation cover, and that the owner should not pay the deposit before seeing the insurance certificate. Two practical consequences for conversion: count a contract as won after cooling-off, not at signing, and keep the same follow-up rhythm through those five days so a signed family does not go quiet. Other states have their own rules; check your state regulator before applying these numbers outside NSW. This is general information, not legal advice.
What does running display follow-up in-house cost?
Running display follow-up in-house costs about 53 hours a month at the mid band’s 100 captured groups, if each group gets the full six-touch Display Follow-Up Clock.
The estimate: two calls of 10 minutes each and four written touches of 3 minutes each is 32 minutes per group, so 100 groups is about 3,200 minutes, or 53 hours, before any second appointments. A sales consultant who is also staffing the display on weekends usually manages day 0 and day 1 and drops the rest. Our decision rule: below about 20 captured groups a week, keep it in-house and use templates; above that, or when weekend staff are the same people who must call, hand first contact and appointment booking to a team or system built for it. The options include AI appointment setting that calls, texts and books on your calendar, and our home builder lead generation guide compares display homes with the other ways builders buy growth.
What should a builder do with last year’s display visitor register?
Last year’s display visitor register is a list of families who already chose your designs once, so work it before buying new traffic.
Re-contact everyone tagged “buying land” or “building later” with the day-30 question, and restart the clock for anyone who answers “this year”. The database reactivation method applies here.
FAQ: converting display home visitors
Builders asking how to convert display home visitors usually ask next about conversion rates, follow-up speed, deposits and approvals, answered below.
What percentage of display home visitors buy a home?
No Australian body publishes a display-visitor-to-contract rate. In our labelled model, 200 visitor groups a month convert at 0.45% to 6.1%, depending on capture, second-appointment, preliminary and contract rates. Measure your own four stage rates for a month before changing anything.
How fast should I follow up a display home visitor?
Follow up a display home visitor the same afternoon by SMS and by phone the next day. The Display Follow-Up Clock then adds touches on days 3, 7, 30 and 90.
How much deposit can a builder take on a new home in NSW?
The NSW Government’s home building contracts guidance says the deposit must not exceed 10% of the contract price, and contracts over $20,000 carry a cooling-off period of five clear business days.
Should display staff ask visitors for their details at the door?
Ask after the walk-through, not at the door, and ask only three questions: where they want to build, whether they own land, and when they want to start. Those answers set the stage tag that drives every later follow-up.
Are building approvals rising in Australia?
House approvals are. The ABS Building Approvals release for August 2026 shows 10,885 private sector houses approved, seasonally adjusted, up 3.7% on the month and 18.4% on the year, although total dwellings approved fell 6.1% on the month to 16,953.
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