Bottom Line: In a housing market where affordable luxury is a suspicious segment due to over promise and under delivery, Provident Sunworth promises to be a case study for both homebuyers and developers in the segment.
As an outside view Provident Sunworth is no different than any other housing project dotted in and around the stretch along Mysore Road. There are very many projects across the budget range in this part of the world.
A look inside the project nevertheless suggests the developer has gone into too much detailing and research into this project. It seems there has been a conscious effort to minimize the demand & supply mismatch that most of the housing projects are weathering today.
As I enter inside the under-construction project with less than 6000 apartments spread over 60 acres to be built in four phases, the first visual impression is that the project is a premium or luxury housing. The sports theme-based landscaping, elevated walkways and greenery beneath does not give the impression that the ticket size in this project starts with INR 55 lakh only.
And it is here that the real estate critic in me could not resist appreciating the project. Even with a moderately priced product, Provident Sunworth is definitely not a housing project meant only for roof over the head; something that has been the bane of most of the affordable housing projects.
I am conscious of the emerging market realities in this part of the world where today’s homebuyer, howsoever constrained with budget, has certain aspirations when it comes to buying a house. One would wait for a year or two to make sure one ends up buying an aspirational house.
The reason is quite simple: the fact that most of the middle class Indians buy a house only once in their lifetime, they know it could hurt them in few years time if the house could not match their aspirations. The emergence of affordable luxury as the fastest selling housing segment is a result of this change in taste and aspirations of the middle class homebuyers.
Provident Sunworth seems to have this research and realization in its very DNA. The project has the potential to be a case study in how an affordable luxury housing should be conceptualized.
The sports theme has been centered around the kids, even though the project could not be called a child centric project. I feel the marketing strategy of the developer should have realised the advantages of positioning the project as a child centric housing project. Provident Sunworth has a number of sports amenities like cricket, tennis, swimming, hockey, kabaddi, boxing, archery etc. There are also cultural activities that have been planned as an integral part of the project.
With a land parcel of 60 acres and given FSI of 2.25, the developer has actually done well to make sure that the project does not come across as a high-density project. Its Master Plan comprises of 62 Wings arranged in the shape of a crescent or half-moon.
On a visit to the project site, I am being told that in the given space of ‘affordable luxury’ the focus has been as much on the ‘luxury’ side as the ‘affordable’ side. To meet that challenging job the developer has reduced the size of the apartment, instead of cutting corners on other specifications of the apartment.
What makes this affordable luxury property an attractive proposition is also the fact that it is not a project that is on the periphery of the city, meant only for the retired homebuyers. As a matter of fact, the project has easy access to various job catchment areas within 10-15 kms of its radius. IT employment hubs in close vicinity to the project are Global Village Tech Park and Electronic City (30-40 minutes drive).
The project also has an added advantage of having proximity to key manufacturing hubs like Bidadi, Toyota Kirloskar Motors and Coca Cola plant. The other catchment areas are Bannerghatta Road and Tumkur Road.
The region is already well connected through local bus terminals and metro rail. As a matter of fact, the latest metro line extension will terminate at Kengeri (Challaegatta) which is at close proximity to Provident Sunworth, making the nearest metro station at 10-15 minutes drive from the project.
With Provident Sunworth located 3.5 kms from the NICE Expressway, it has a distinct locational advantage of signal free connectivity to Hosur Road and Tumkur Road. Furthermore, the project is located on Mysore Road and hence addresses the major concern of water scarcity in Bangalore as it falls under phase 3 of the Cauvery water supply project.
The developer has also been smart to not throw an inventory of around 6,000 apartments in one go and then sit over the piles of unsold inventory. The project is split into four phases and that marketing strategy seems to have resulted in a decent launch to sales ratio. First phase is almost sold and sales velocity of the second phase is also quite satisfactory. The third and fourth phase has yet not been launched.
Ever since Mysore Road Metro got operational there has been lower inventory overhang in this catchment area. Provident Sunworth has the first mover advantage in this market and today this market is dotted with a number of affordable housing projects. Despite this, new launches have fared well in this region and as per a conservative estimate the market has an average absorption rate of 42 per cent in the first year post launch.
In terms of social infrastructure and amenities, there are educational institutions, hospitals, eateries and entertainment park around its periphery. Film city, water park and other entertainment hubs are within the travelling distance from this project.
Track2Realty assigns this project with ‘A Rating’ and recommends it to be seen as a case study of affordable luxury. The project has just completed the phase-I and it is yet a work in progress, but if the overall execution goes the way it has been conceptualized, the project would definitely be a case study for other developers looking to foray, or have already failed to deliver, an affordable luxury project.
By: Ravi Sinha
