At a time when home sales are sluggish in Mumbai, real estate developer Lodha Group is planning to sell its upcoming premium residential project in Worli on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis.
Lodha will start distributing applications alongwith a prospectus on the project from January 7, and prospective buyers need to fill up the form and return to the company by the third week of January, according to an executive from a property consultancy, who requested anonymity.
The project will have two, three and four-bedroom apartments and the prices are expected to be revealed on January 16. Consultants expect the company to keep the pricing of a two-bedroom apartment at around Rs 3.5 crore and keep the unit sizes to be less than 1,000 sq ft for a two-bedroom apartment. Prices in the area hover around Rs 30,000 a sq ft.
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At five minutes’ drive, in the Lower Parel area, Lodha was quoting a price of Rs 8.5 crore for a 3,000 sq ft basic apartment in World Crest. In the main tower, World One, apartment prices start with Rs 9.5 crore.
Another consultant said the recent success of the Larsen and Toubro-Omkar Realtors combine’s slum redevelopment project in Parel had made developers relook at apartment sizes and pricing to generate sales.
L&T-Omkar priced the project at Rs 19,000 per sq ft against the market price of Rs 20,000-Rs 28,000 per sq ft in the area. Though the combine got booking for 600 apartments, they stopped at 450.
“In today’s environment, you cannot get a two-bedroom apartment for Rs 3 crore in south Mumbai and prices have reached Rs 2.5 crore for two-bedroom flats in Goregaon and Jogeshwari. Hence, people are shifting to places like Sewri and Parel, which are priced at around Rs 3 crore,” said the chief executive of a property consultancy, requesting anonymity. “You should also remember that very few developers are building two-bedroom apartments in South Mumbai.”
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Lodha had recently bought this plot from DLF Ltd, the country’s largest developer, for Rs 2,727 crore in one of the largest realty deals. Lodha has codenamed the project as ‘Blue Moon’, which will have around 2,000 apartments.
When Lodha acquired the land from DLF, the company's managing director, Abhisheck Lodha, had said they had paid Rs 5,500 per sq ft given the total saleable area of 5 million sq ft.
A Lodha spokesperson did not respond to text messages and calls made for this story.
"They are trying to create a hype with this marketing gimmick," said a marketing head of a Mumbai-based real estate company, who also did not want to be named.
According to sources in the group, the company will use an algorithm-based system to choose buyers. “The buyers will have to give options in terms of configurations, floor size and so on. Those who will apply first will get the first chance of getting apartments,” said a source. “We have seen phenomenal response for the project as it is centrally located and well connected. We thought if we go through conventional route, it would have taken forever to clear the queue. Hence, we decided to make people apply.”
Another consultant said the buyers would think thoroughly before they apply. “It’s not like applying for shares. Home buying is an emotional subject for many and they want many things customised for them.”