Track2Realty Exclusive: NCR and Mumbai account for 60-70 per cent of the total deals, along with some top tier I cities. Some tier II cities are also witness to sizeable land deals. Most of the land purchases will be done by regional smaller players instead of big developers, Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) Executive Managing Director (South Asia) Sanjay Dutt says.
Some industry experts maintain over ambitious land banking has not been seen since March 2008, when BPTP outbid DLF for a tract of land in Noida with a Rs 5,006 crore offer.
BPTP quoted the highest sum for the site — Sector 94 running along the Noida and Greater Noida Expressway — bidding at Rs 1,30,207 per square metre, followed by the country’s largest realty company DLF which quoted Rs 1,17,000 per square metre and Omaxe at Rs 80,100 per square metre.
BPTP’s winning bid was nearly 70 per cent more than the reserve price of Rs 2960 crore for the land parcel. But the deal was called off after BPTP failed to arrange funds to complete the deal.
Though the land deals have been few and far between in the last four years and the year 2012 has seen a record low, it doesn’t mean land ceased to attract premium in any part of the country.
“Some places in Mumbai and NCR prices have gone up tremendously in the last two years. This has led to slowdown in demand,” Dutt said.
Among the costliest land deals in the year 2012—
- An eight-acre plot in Kalachowkie in the heart of central Mumbai, was sold by South Mumbai property redeveloper Haresh Mehta to Lodha Group for Rs 600 crore.
- Runwal Group purchased a 14-acre Neosym Industry Ltd, a metal manufacturing company located on LBS Marg in Bhandup and owned by Kolkata industrialist C K Birla’s family for over Rs 400 crore.
- Ajay Piramal-led Piramal Realty entered into an agreement to jointly develop the 1.5 acre Famous Studio property with its owner, the Roongta family for around Rs 350 crore.
- Sunteck Realty bought a 15-acre industrial plot at Goregaon for Rs 300 crore.
- Lodha Group purchased 17-acres of DLF’s Mumbai Textile Mill for Rs 2,700 crore.
- A three-acre plot in Andheri owned by Nycomed Pharma has been sold for around Rs 205 crore, or Rs 65 crore an acre to Mahindra Lifespaces.
C&W says organised players like Godrej, Mahindras and L&T will continue to purchase land as and when required. Another notable emerging trend is that most of the land purchases would be done by regional smaller players instead of big developers.
