What are the stages of a property sale?
Most Indian brokerages and builders work through the same sequence, even if they name the stages differently:
- Enquiry — a portal lead, ad form, WhatsApp message, call or walk-in.
- Qualification — the first call: is this a real buyer or tenant, and when do they want to move?
- Requirement — location, BHK, budget, area, possession timeline, loan or own funds.
- Shortlist — matching listings or units shared, usually on WhatsApp.
- Site visit — the client sees the property with an executive.
- Negotiation — price, payment schedule, inclusions, brokerage.
- Token — a booking or token amount that holds the property.
- Agreement — agreement for sale, or a rent / leave-and-licence agreement.
- Home loan — sanction and disbursement, where the buyer borrows.
- Registration and possession — the sale deed registered at the sub-registrar office, keys handed over.
Stage by stage: owner, documents and what to track
The table below is a typical split for a mid-sized brokerage with telecallers (pre-sales) and field executives. Smaller teams merge roles; builders add a CRM or post-sales team after booking.
| Stage | Typical owner | Typical documents | What to track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enquiry | System / pre-sales | Portal or form record, ad source | Source, time of enquiry, time to first call |
| Qualification | Telecaller (pre-sales) | Call notes | Connected vs RNR, attempts, qualified or not |
| Requirement | Telecaller | Requirement fields | Budget, location, BHK, timeline, loan need |
| Shortlist | Executive | Listing details, brochure, cost sheet | Options shared, client responses |
| Site visit | Field executive | Visit slot, visit confirmation | Visits scheduled vs done, feedback |
| Negotiation | Executive / manager | Offers, revised cost sheet | Offer history, days in negotiation |
| Token | Manager | Token receipt, booking form, KYC | Amount, date, payment reference |
| Agreement | Manager / lawyer | Agreement for sale or rent agreement | Draft, signed, stamp duty paid |
| Home loan | Loan desk / buyer | Sanction letter, disbursement request | Bank, sanction date, disbursement |
| Registration | Manager / buyer | Sale deed, registration receipt | Registration date, brokerage invoiced |
How does a resale sale differ from a new-project sale?
In a resale, the broker usually represents the buyer, the seller or both. Before the token, the buyer’s side checks the title chain, the society’s no-objection certificate where the society requires one, and any existing loan on the property that must be closed. The buyer pays the token to the seller, then the balance at registration, often partly through the buyer’s bank.
In a new project, the buyer books a unit from the builder, often through a channel partner. The project must be registered with the state RERA authority, the booking follows a cost sheet and payment plan (for example construction-linked), and the agreement for sale is signed with the promoter. Under Section 13(1) of the RERA Act, a promoter cannot accept more than 10 % of the cost of the apartment as an advance or application fee without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering it.
For channel partners the critical stage is the site visit: it is usually what proves the client was theirs and decides the commission.
What changes for rentals?
Rentals are shorter: enquiry, qualification, shortlist, visit, negotiation on rent and deposit, a token, then the agreement and move-in. There is no loan stage. The paperwork is a rent agreement — called a leave and licence agreement in Maharashtra — and, where the local police require it, tenant verification.
What to track also changes: the agreement start and end dates, the renewal date, rent escalation and the brokerage, which is commonly charged once per agreement. A rental that renews is a second deal; a CRM that remembers the renewal date earns it.
Where do deals usually stall?
Most deals are lost in the handover between stages. Watch these four:
- Enquiry → first call: the buyer enquired with several brokers and the first relevant call wins attention.
- RNR (ringing, no response) after the first attempt: without a set retry plan the lead goes cold within days.
- Shortlist → site visit: options sent on WhatsApp with no fixed visit slot.
- Token → agreement and loan: documents wait on the buyer, the seller or the bank, and nobody owns the chase.
Which numbers should a sales manager track?
Count conversion between neighbouring stages rather than one overall rate: enquiries to connected calls, connected to qualified, qualified to site visit, site visit to token, and token to registration. A fall at one step points to one fix — speed of first call, the retry plan, the quality of shortlists or the paperwork chase.
Add time in stage (how many days a lead sits at shortlist or negotiation) and a reason whenever a lead is closed as lost. Use your own history as the baseline; industry averages vary too much by city, ticket size and source to be useful.
Running the process in a CRM
In PropZolo each lead moves through statuses that mirror these stages, with sub-statuses for RNR and call outcomes, OTP-verified site visits, and deals that carry the token, agreement, commission and GST invoice. Rentals keep agreement and renewal dates; projects keep the unit, cost sheet and booking.
Questions
How many stages does a real estate sale have?
Most teams use eight to ten: enquiry, qualification, requirement, shortlist, site visit, negotiation, token, agreement, home loan and registration, followed by possession. The names vary, but each stage should have one owner and a clear next action so a lead never sits without someone responsible for it.
What is a token amount in a property deal?
A token amount is a part payment that holds the property for the buyer while the agreement is prepared. Its size and refund terms are agreed between the parties and should be written on the receipt. For new projects, Section 13(1) of the RERA Act caps the advance at 10 % of the cost until a written agreement for sale is signed and registered.
Who pays the brokerage, buyer or seller?
It depends on the city, the deal and the agreement with the broker. In resale, brokers often charge one or both sides; in rentals, commonly the tenant, the landlord or both; in new projects, the builder pays the channel partner. Put the rate and payer in writing before the site visit.
When is the sale deed registered?
Usually after the agreement, once the balance payment, including any home loan disbursement, is ready. Buyer and seller sign at the sub-registrar office and pay stamp duty and registration charges. For an under-construction flat, the conveyance happens later as per the agreement with the builder.
What does RNR mean in real estate sales?
RNR means ringing, no response: the call went through but nobody picked up. It is the most common outcome on first calls to portal leads. Teams set a retry plan — call again at different times, then a WhatsApp or SMS within the permitted window — and record each attempt.
Sources
- India Code — The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, accessed 12 October 2026
- RERA Act, 2016 — Gazette text hosted by UP RERA (Section 13(1)), accessed 12 October 2026
General information about common practice, not legal or tax advice. Documents, stamp duty and registration rules differ by state; check the official text or a lawyer before a transaction.