PremiumBengaluru: DLF Ltd, India's largest real estate developer by market value, is firming up plans to launch mid-income projects, in the ₹60-80 lakh price category, as demand for homes in the affordable category remains relatively better in a tepid residential market, said two people familiar with the plans.
Over the past few years, DLF had adopted the strategy to hold back on selling under-construction housing projects and sell only when a project is near completion, as buyers’ preference had visibly moved towards ready-to-move in homes.
Affordable housing has got several government incentives in recent times, and coupled with better demand for such homes, many developers have been focusing on building budget homes in the metro cities and their extended suburbs.
In his first annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday as DLF’s chairman, Rajiv Singh said the residential segment is witnessing early green shoots of revival across markets with increased interest in the mid-income and affordable segment.
“…DLF continues to strive in creating value by unlocking its land bank. In this context, we have commenced planning of scaling up launches and offering a bouquet of diversified offerings across segments with greater value proposition in line with the market leading to a healthy sales revival," Singh told shareholders.
DLF is planning to launch budget housing projects in Gurugram and in Chandigarh Tricity as of now. According to its investor presentation, these under-planning projects span across 10 million sq ft with potential revenue of ₹5000 crore. These will include projects with low-rise buildings and can be executed quickly.
“It’s a new strategy for DLF from what it has done in recent years," said one person mentioned above, asking not to be named.
Singh said that DLF’s commercial office assets under its rental portfolio will continue to contribute significantly in the growth of the company. DLF has started development of two new office projects ‘Downtown’ in Chennai and Gurugram.
“The retail segment witnessed significant adverse impact owing to the pandemic and the consequent lockdown restrictions. We expect a gradual recovery in this segment as things return to normalcy," Singh added.
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