How to read our open construction journal.

An open construction journal entered our developments faster than most of the market got used to it. For a buyer, it’s the best tool to check whether a deadline is realistic.

When construction progress is open — with photos, dates and milestones — a question arises that used to be reserved for an engineer: whether the schedule holds together and whether the development is moving at a pace that will deliver the deadline.

Where to look first

The signal rarely lies in a single photo. It lies in the pace between milestones, in the dates matching the schedule from the contract, and in whether the developer also shows the weeks when nothing spectacular happened.

• Check that the journal’s dates match the schedule from the contract
• Verify the pace between successive milestones
• See whether the journal is kept regularly, not in bursts
• Compare the site’s state with the declared escrow-account stage

Practical advice: treat the construction journal like a bank statement. If you know what happened each week and whether it matches the schedule, you’re in a much better position than a buyer who trusts the renderings alone.