T-03
Whole or split
The sum a buyer does before purchasing an entire building to divide and sell on: how much they can pay for the whole and still keep their margin.
Drafted with AI assistance · checked by Redazione TriesteBusiness (TriesteVillas srl) on 8 October 2026
What it does, and what it does not
This is the sum done by someone who buys an entire building to refurbish it, divide it into units and sell them one by one. It starts from the revenue from sales, deducts the works, the professional fees, the selling costs and the margin the developer wants to keep, and what is left is what they can pay for the whole, with and without taxes. Surveyors know it as the residual method; here it is set out in its simplest form.
The tool opens with an example; every field can be changed, and below the result you can see how the sum moves if the works cost more, or if exit prices fall or rise.
It is not the value of a building, yours or anyone else’s: no field asks you to describe one. It is there to show how someone who buys to divide reasons, before you talk to them.
On these assumptions, the purchase price that leaves the developer their margin
This is not the value of any asset: it is the sum done by someone who buys in order to divide, and it moves a great deal with the works and the exit prices.
- Revenue from sales
- €3,610,000
- Residual for the purchase, taxes included
- €1,392,700revenue − works and professional fees − selling costs − margin
- Purchase price, before taxes
- €1,277,706the residual divided by one plus the purchase taxes
| Assumption | Residual for the purchase, taxes included | Purchase price, before taxes |
|---|---|---|
| works at €2,000/m² | €870,200 | €798,349 |
| works at €2,500/m² | €347,700 | €318,991 |
| exit price at €4,500/m² | €1,096,680 | €1,006,128 |
| exit price at €5,500/m² | €1,688,720 | €1,549,284 |
The calculation stays on your device: nothing you enter here is sent to us or to anyone else.
The formula
revenue = saleable area × exit price × (1 − discount)residual including taxes = revenue − works × gross floor area × (1 + professional fees) − revenue × (selling costs + margin)purchase price = residual including taxes ÷ (1 + purchase taxes)
| Assumption | Residual for the purchase, taxes included | Purchase price, before taxes |
|---|---|---|
| The starting example | €1,392,700 | €1,277,706 |
| works at €2,000/m² | €870,200 | €798,349 |
| works at €2,500/m² | €347,700 | €318,991 |
| exit price at €4,500/m² | €1,096,680 | €1,006,128 |
| exit price at €5,500/m² | €1,688,720 | €1,549,284 |
The limits
The cost of a heavy refurbishment in Trieste is not verified by any public source, and it varies widely from one building to the next: a heritage listing by the Soprintendenza, a lift to be fitted, building services to be replaced. The exit prices that can be found are asking prices, not agreed ones. That is why the tool shows the sensitivity straight away: on these assumptions, the sum moves a great deal.
In Italian listings and deeds, an entire building in single ownership is called cielo-terra: it is the term to look for when the question is whether to sell whole or divided.
The other tools: all tools
You can write to us in English or Italian, and we reply in either.