Realty rush back in the Capital

Developers announce new projects, vacant land being unlocked

The realty sector in Delhi, which has rested on the fast appreciating prices of marquee residential units built years ago or old bungalows converted into multi-storied houses, is emerging as a major real estate destination again. Not only are developers announcing a slew of projects but precious chunks of vacant land, a scarce commodity in the city, are in the process of being unlocked, too.

Godrej Properties has announced a luxury residential project in Okhla, while Parsvnath Developers has plans of building a retail-cum-office complex at Kasturba Gandhi Marg. Another developer, M2K is coming up with a residential project near Model Town and DLF is constructing King’s Court at Greater Kailash II (GK-II) in the city.

Godrej Properties entered into a development agreement with Southend Infrastructure in June this year to develop a five acre luxury residential group housing project at Okhla Phase 1, New Delhi, the company’s first in the city. It is building two residential projects in Gurgaon, Pirojsha Godrej, managing director & chief executive officer, Godrej Properties, said, “The National Capital Region is a key part of our growth strategy and we believe this project’s (the one in Delhi) strategic location will help increase our presence in the region.”

DLF has already built a luxury project in GK-II, Queen’s Court, and is in the process of giving possession. It had 19 homes which have been sold out and only two penthouses are left. The units are priced at Rs 5,500-9,000 a sq ft.  Its upcoming King’s Court will comprise four and five bedroom- hall-kitchen apartments and town houses in the range of Rs 5,000-7,000 a sq ft. Possession is expected in the next two years.

Experts say this is just the beginning of the development in the Delhi market. With zonal plans in the making under the Delhi Master Plan 2021, developers have already started buying huge land parcels across the city.

Under Plan 2021, 60,000 hectares was scheduled to be thrown open for development/redevelopment. Though the Plan was notified in 2007, it is still being modified in line with market conditions, experts said. Currently, Delhi has an urbanised area of 702 sq km area. That might grow to 780 sq km, taking into account the new areas which can be urbanised.

In fact, land is set to be unlocked in North Delhi, around the Yamuna river front, Narela, Dwarka and some other parts of the city. Also, the new farmhouse policy, wherein government will allow farmhouses of one acre, is expected to add to the action in the Delhi real estate space. The government is even considering converting old buildings into high rise apartments, another step in making Delhi a major real estate hotspot.

Parsvnath, while announcing its annual results recently, had said it would soon start execution at its KG Marg property, which it had earlier planned to monetise . “With the anticipated improvement in cash flow in the near future and tremendous response from investors, we are planning to develop a world class retail and office space in 1.2 acres of land on K G Marg. We have already received all the required approvals from various authorities,” the company said.

M2K, a small developer, is building luxury units near Model Town. The project at Model Town has 500 units in the range of Rs  four crore and above, at the rate of Rs  18,000 a sq ft. “The project is nearing completion and possession is likely by the end of this year,” a company executive said.