Ambuja Neotia back with second homes

BENGALURU: Ambuja Neotia Group, which has a diversified real estate, hospitality and healthcare portfolio, has re-entered the second homes segment after a long hiatus, on the back of a resurgence in demand following the coronavirus pandemic, a top executive said.

The Kolkata-based firm has a pipeline of projects across price segments planned in various locations across West Bengal such as Darjeeling, Dooars, and the Makaibari Tea Estate.

The company will monetise its land parcels to build second homes and also develop hotels in such locations, to address a larger base of tourists and potential home buyers. The Ambuja Neotia Group had nearly 25 years ago launched The Ffort Raichak project near Kolkata, which has a resort, villas, and self-catering apartments.

“We acquired these properties (land parcels) almost a decade back. We wanted to first build the hotels and see how they did. Covid also opened up new avenues on the second homes market, and we feel more confident today than we felt a few years back. These properties will be marketed as genuine second homes, in beautiful locations far from the city, as we don’t expect the local people to buy there,” Ambuja Neotia Group’s chairman Harshvardhan Neotia said in an interview.

At the iconic Makaibari Tea Estate, it is planning to develop 24 uber luxury villas, while in Ghoom, near popular hill station Darjeeling, it will build smaller, 1000 sq ft premium apartments with common facilities and some servicing. In the Dooars area, near Lataguri forest, it is planning cottages. The company is plans to launch a couple of these projects this year.

The second home market in the country is poised to witness high traction in the near term, led by wealthy individuals, as they look to get away from cities amid the pandemic. Developers such as Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL), DLF Ltd and Isprava have witnessed demand for larger individual homes at higher budgets, both for self-usage and investment, in Goa, Kasauli, Coonoor, Alibaug and ‘away from city’ locations.

The group is also coming up with hotels in Darjeeling and Lataguri, Sunderbans, New Town Kolkata and Digha, a sea-side tourist spot. It has hotels coming up in Sikkim and Patna, which should be operational in the next two years.

“Post pandemic, people realised the need for bigger homes. Having said that, ready apartments are seeing better demand, while only reputed builders are seeing demand for under-construction properties. Property prices were stagnant till mid-2021 but have starting moving up in the last six months. Depending on the quality of the product, another 5-7% price rise across the board is likely to be seen,” Neotia said.