Off-Plan Real Estate Glossary

Off-plan property is real estate sold before construction is complete — typically while a building is at planning, foundation or shell stage.

PIM stands for Product Information Management — the system that holds the canonical record of inventory data.

An escrow account is a regulated third-party bank account that holds the buyer's funds until contract conditions — usually construction milestones — are met.

A payment plan is the schedule by which a buyer pays for an off-plan property — typically a downpayment plus instalments over 18–48 months.

A tranche is one portion of an off-plan payment plan — a single instalment the buyer pays at a defined point in the schedule.

A channel partner is an external broker or agency that sells a developer's inventory in exchange for a commission.

A master plan is the comprehensive site layout for a development project — showing buildings, roads, amenities, green space and points of interest.

A soft hold is a temporary, non-binding reservation that takes a unit out of public availability for a short period — typically hours to a few days — while the buyer arranges their deposit.

A hard hold is a deposit-backed reservation that contractually removes a unit from public sale.

RERA is a real-estate regulator. The most-cited RERA is the Dubai one — part of the Dubai Land Department (DLD) — which oversees off-plan developers, escrow trustees, broker licensing and consumer protection.