Now flats in ‘affordable luxury’ segment

The size of the market, with respect to affordable luxury homes is pegged at around Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 crore. And around 50 to 60 per cent of all residential projects fall under this category. 

M Arun Kumar, Managing Director, Casa Grande Pvt Ltd, which recently launched a new project of affordable luxury apartments, called Casa Grande Ferns in Tambaram, tells us, “Previously in locations like Tambaram, less organised or unorganised players called the shots. A major presence of Category C developers had led the market into offering ‘pure vanilla’ housing, sans any major amenities. However, that’s not what today’s home buyers want. They want all their creature comforts, and more.” 

With a price point hovering around Rs 35 lakh for 2BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen) apartments (with a built-up area of 950-1,000 sqft) and Rs 40 lakh for 3BHK apartments (with a built-up area of 1,1001,450 sqft), the developer is tapping into a market that demands both lifestyle comforts and a value for money proposition. 

Arun says, “We have stepped into the Tambaram micro-market with this Rs 200 crore project, keeping the right price point in mind. So far, we have sold about 80-odd units in our new project and the response has been quite encouraging.” 

Giving an overview of how the entry of organised players in suburban markets such as these augur well for the realty sector as a whole, Sanjay Chugh – Founder, Skylines Property Consultants says, “One of the upsides of having Category A builders turning their focus to suburban locations is that the development of Chennai will stretch beyond city limits, and in turn create a satellite town of sorts. In the coming days, a major driver for people to move beyond the centre of the city for residential options will be the availability of an efficient public transport network – a criterion that Tambaram already satisfies.”

Western suburbs such as Poonamallee and Porur, which are well connected to Anna Nagar and Guindy, will see a lot of action, especially in the affordable luxury category. Sanjay explains, “The primary market, which is the active market comprises of buyers looking at homes in the range of Rs 30 to Rs 60 lakh. I believe the new breed of developers offering lifestyle apartments in suburban region stand to attract a sizeable clientele.” 

And the ripple effects of such developments are being felt across the city. K Chandrasekar, President, NAR-CREAA (Chennai Real Estate Agents Association), says, “A major Bengaluru-based developer is now shortlisting locations on OMR and Valasaravakkam with an aim to come up with a range of residential projects in this sector. This is more or less indicative of the promise that the city’s residential realty sector holds for builders within and outside these borders.”