Developers in Gurgaon focus on plots as Covid-19 changes consumer preference

New Delhi: Gurgaon’s leading real estate developers with large land banks are focusing on launching gated colonies of residential plots instead of high-rises in a bid to cater to the shift in consumer preference in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

DLF, Raheja, Alpha Corp and Signature Global are among the builders who have turned to plotted colonies as, apart from the surge in demand, there is no construction cost involved and they also avail a tax benefit from the state government.

The Haryana government had announced Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna (DDAY) for small towns in 2016 and, last year, it extended the scheme to include Gurgaon. Under the scheme, developers applying for licence get tax benefit and waiver on internal and external development charges.

“At least 10 developers in Gurgaon are coming up with the plotted colonies to avail benefit of the scheme and most of them have received tremendous response. This was an untouched market in Gurgaon with most of the developers focusing on luxury segment. The affordable plot scheme has changed the game and more developers will monetise the land through this as there is no heavy capital involved and it is less time consuming,” said Anckur Srivasttava, chairman of real estate advisory GenReal Property Advisers.

In high-rises, monetisation tends to be slower as buyers prefer ready-to-move properties, said industry executives.

“The demand for affordable housing and plots at affordable rates has increased manifold. We are offering plots in 80-150 metres size and since developers can now construct four floors and sell them independently, we are selling floors too at some places,” said Pradeep Aggarwal, chairman, Signature Global Group.

Raheja Developers has delivered two projects under the DDAY scheme and has applied for more licences.

“There is a lot of demand and it is also easy to monetise. The plot starts as low as Rs 18.7 lakh with the size ranging between 68 and 144 square yards. This makes the product very affordable for homebuyers,” said Nayan Raheja, executive director, Raheja developers.

DLF, the country’s largest developer, had told investors during the last quarter earnings call about its plan to monetise plots under the scheme of the Haryana govt.
“The difference being that in the last few months, there have been certain policy interventions by the Haryana government which have made the monetisation of these pieces slightly more friendly. And that’s what we are trying to leverage,” said Ashok Tyagi, whole-time director, DLF NSE 1.36 %. “We believe we have the right land bank to be able to launch these projects.”
Under the DDAY scheme, the state plans to promote high-density plotted colonies across Haryana and has made it mandatory that all the projects be completed within a period of seven years from the date the licence is granted.

Alpha Corp, which has projects in Karnal and Meerut, said that its Alpha International City, Karnal (AICK) in Haryana will offer small plots in gated society to avail benefit of the government’s scheme. “The township is designed to cater to the needs of its residents, both basic and aspirational, scaled to a global level. We will now launch small affordable plots and with rapid rail connecting the township with Delhi, we expect a lot of NCR (National Capital Region) residents to invest,” said Santosh Agarwal CFO, Alpha Corp.