New Delhi: Ashok Vihar, like the rest of Delhi, is a conurbation of plotted row houses and colonies. No major private developer apartment projects are being launched here, nor are any possible in the near future.
However, the location is witnessing an increase in development of independent floors on housing plots. This is typically done by local brokers and builders entering in to a collaboration agreement with homeowners, who are guaranteed new houses of four storeys while the builders get one floor to sell and retain the proceeds. Such an arrangement allows for lower liquidity infusion by the builder, as he's only incurring construction and interest costs upfront. The concerned homeowners, in turn, do not have to pay anything and get brand-new houses which they can self-occupy or sell floor-wise.
In limited cases, one also sees outright sale of such houses. In such cases, the builder becomes the sole new owner and pays the homeowner the going market price for the land area of the house, and then proceeds to construct the new floors and sells them.
In Ashok Vihar, typical plot areas are 150, 200, 300 and 400 square yards. The current land valuations are between Rs.
4,00,000-4,50,000 per square yard. Maximum traction in terms of sales is being seen in the 150-200 square yard plot segment. Floors in these plots typical cost between Rs. 15,000-20,000/sq.ft. Apartment sizes are in the range of 1100–1,500 square feet, resulting in unit costs of Rs. 2.0 crore and upwards. Typically, the cost of the upper ground and first floor are highest and do not vary by much, while the highest storey is more expensive as it comes with exclusive roof rights.
Under the current rules, stilt parking and four storeys on residential plots are allowed in Delhi, with floor coverage reducing for the upper floors as the plot size increases. So, independent floors are the most prevalent developments. There is healthy demand for such floors, for both outright purchase as well as for rental purposes. Rents for such floors are in the range of Rs. 30,000-35,000 per month. Most of these builder floors come with standard specifications of modular kitchen units, marble flooring and some woodwork for wardrobes and cabinets, etc.
Most available residential units are in the configuration of 3 BHK and above and as described above, and independent builder floors are the most available housing options for buyers in this area. The rents vary and go up as the sizes of the apartments increase, reaching Rs. 50,000-60,000 per month for the largest plot sizes. The ticket size is higher for the larger plots, and hence sales traction tend to be lower in these configurations when compared to 100 and 200 square yard floors.
(Rohan Sharma is Associate Director – Research & REIS at JLL India)
