Low-rise independent floors gaining favour

Low-rise independent floors gaining favour
The Economic Times, July 15, 2009, Page 5

Sanjeev Choudhary NEW DELHI

REAL estate developers in the national capital region (NCR), struggling to beat a slump in demand, are banking on low-rise independent floors to induce customers into buying homes. The developers are able to offer these homes at much lower prices, almost 30% lower, compared with a typical multi-storey apartment. Significantly lower maintenance cost for these homes is also attracting many buyers.

Realty companies such as BPTP, Emaar MGF and Ansal API have together sold close to 7,000 homes in NCR in the past three months, according to the executives of these companies. A BPTP spokesman said the company sold more than 5,500 low-rise independent floors in a Faridabad project in May. An Emaar MGF spokesperson said the company sold a thousand homes in this segment in Gurgaon last month.

“Many people, especially in North India, still prefer low-rise and independent floors. They are not very comfortable using lift and feel safer in low-rise homes,” says Kunal Banerjee, executive director, TDI, a realty firm that will launch 400 such homes next week in Kundli in NCR. TDI is offering homes between Rs 17.5 lakh (for 810 sq.ft) and Rs 26.5 lakh (for 1100 sq.ft).

BPTP’s vice-president (marketing) Amit Raj Jain attributed the success of its project to right pricing. “The cost of construction and maintenance comes down drastically in case of independent floors as many of the infrastructure needs such as lifts and security to be provided in case of high rise are not mandatory in the case of low rise,” he said. BPTP’s 3bhk home cost Rs 16 lakh and a 4bhk cost Rs 25.5 lakh.

Ansal API CEO Anil Kumar estimates the cost of construction for an independent floor house to be around 25% lower than multi-storey homes. “Besides lower cost of construction, these houses also attract significantly lower charges on account of government licence fee making them cheaper,” Mr Kumar said. His company sold close to 150 homes in Panipat and is planning to launch independent floors in Kurushetra, Karnal and Dadri.

Another significant factor that attracts buyers to these homes is the low maintenance charge. A home owner may end up paying Rs 1800 to Rs 2400 on account of maintenance charge for a 1200-sqft multi-storey apartment, but he shells out very little when he manages the maintenance for independent floor as it doesn’t involve maintenance of park, lift, club and security. Also, a home buyer saves around Rs 3 lakh, as there is no common power back-up, parking charges or club membership.

Areas such as Ghaziabad and Noida in NCR had seen many small developers develop these three-floor homes as the local laws permitted this, but large developers launched these independent floors only last year in Gurgaon and Faridabad after Haryana government allowed registration of independent floors.