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Enquiries indicate it belongs to an industrialist with links to a prominent cricketer.
It is not every day that a bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi is up for sale. Home to among the who's who of India and the heart of the country's power centre, this is, after all, one of the most coveted addresses.
One sprawling bungalow here has recently been put on the block and is being sold through Sotheby's International Realty. The asking price is Rs 325 crore.
With seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms (plus a smaller one), a swimming pool, an expansive driveway and multiple family lounges, this property boasts a total area of over one acre: 13,670 sq ft (0.3 acres) internally and 34,412 sq ft (0.79 acres) externally.
While Sotheby's refused to reveal the identity of its owner, a QR code on the ad leads to the address on Firozeshah Road. Enquiries indicate it belongs to an industrialist with links to a prominent cricketer.
Realtors and real estate consultancies do not easily open up about uber-premium properties such as those in the Lutyens Bungalow Zone (LBZ).
Deals get known only after they are done and dusted -- sometimes after a new owner has moved in. Potential buyers are first vetted for their profile before any action is taken on a sales enquiry.
There is a reason for this.
LBZ, a 2,800-hectare (6,919-acre) enclave in Lutyens' Delhi, houses government residences and offices. Around 254.5 acres are privately owned. There are no more than 950 to 1,000 bungalows in LBZ, of which less than 10 per cent are in private hands.
Real estate consultant JLL says the value of these bungalows ranges from Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) to over Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion), driven by exclusivity, limited supply and strict development regulations.
High demand, coupled with central location, elevates prices. The average price in this zone is around Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per square yard (that's 9 sq ft).
"Given the exclusive nature of the LBZ and the prestige associated with living in this area, property owners often have the liberty to quote their desired price when selling or renting out their bungalows," says Ritesh Mehta, senior director and head (North and West), Residential Services and Developer Initiative, JLL India.
Prominent locations in Lutyens, such as Amrita Shergill Marg, Aurangzeb Road, Prithviraj Road, Bhagwan Das Road and Tilak Marg, and Golf Links, have complexes ranging between 375 to 6,000 square yards and 2.36 to 3.75 acres.
Anticipating a scarcity of available properties, JLL projects that these sought-after Lutyens properties will be offered for sale only once a year over the next four to five years. That is, no more than one property will likely come up for sale in a year.
Among LBZ's current residents are Sunil Bharti Mittal (chairperson, Airtel), KP Singh (chairman emeritus, DLF group), the Burmans (Dabur group), the Jindals (Jindal group), Laxmi Mittal (executive chairman, ArcelorMittal), and C K Birla (chairman, Hyderabad Industries Ltd).
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
