Find the scheme that wrings the most value from a site.
UnlockLand tests use after use against the site's zoning, physical limits, and market demand — then surfaces the highest and best use: the scheme that is legally allowed, physically possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive.
The compare stage — where the optimal use of a site is settled.
The same lot can be worth millions more under the right use.
Illustrative interface — every use scored on the four tests, the winner shown with its margin over the runner-up.
The four tests of highest and best use, automated
A use is only the highest and best if it passes every test: legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive. UnlockLand runs each candidate use through all four and shows you which scheme clears them all — and by how much it beats the next best.
Each use is checked against zoning and the parcel's physical limits, so only schemes you could actually deliver stay in the running.
Surviving uses are run through feasibility and returns, dropping anything that can't clear a viable margin against cost.
The remaining options are ranked by the value they create, and the use that produces the most rises to the top.
How it works
Set the candidate uses
Start from the schemes you compared, or let UnlockLand propose uses the zoning permits — residential, mixed-use, commercial, and beyond.
Run the four tests
Each use is screened for legal permissibility, physical possibility, and financial feasibility, then scored on the value it produces.
Surface the optimal use
The scheme that maximizes value while clearing every test is recommended, with the margin over the runner-up made explicit.
Every use, through every test
Candidates drop out the moment they fail a gate. What survives all four is, by definition, the highest and best use.
What goes in, what comes out
- A site with its zoning and parcel data
- Candidate uses, or let UnlockLand suggest them
- Optional: market rents, sale prices & demand signals
- Each use scored on the four HBU tests
- The value created by every viable scheme
- The recommended highest and best use
- A winning scheme ready for financial modeling
Where it fits in the workflow
Highest & Best Use turns a ranked shortlist into a single recommended scheme. It builds on the side-by-side comparison, then hands the winning use to financial modeling to be underwritten in full detail.
Ready to compare plans? See pricing.
Discover what a site is truly worth building.
Request a demo to find the highest and best use for your first site in minutes — Talk to our team to get started.