subject: WANTED ONE ROOM FLATS [print this page] After missing an opportunity to construct one-room flats in NCR earlier, some realtors are now moving to build affordable homes in places like Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad, says Vivek Shukla Notwithstanding the fact that these flats are not close to golf courses, swimming pools or ridges, there are always enough buyers for such tenements. There is also a strong possibility that the proud owners of such humble flats would not have a great view of the outside world from their balconies. These houses, with no luxury inside or outside, have many buyers. Though some realty firms have come forward and started making one-room flats, others are still not very forthcoming. Old-timers will recall that there was a time when DDA and GDA used to make one-bedroom flats in a big way. Such one-bedroom flats can be seen in many parts of the capital, as well as in Ghaziabad. Thousand of people live there with their families. It is a different matter that despite a demand in the market, with enough people keen to buy such flats, prestigious real estate firms have almost stopped making one-bedroom houses. As recently as a couple of months ago, National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) and Mahaveer Hanuman group together launched their project of one-bedroom flats in Khekhra town on the Delhi-Baghpat Road, around 19km from Kashmiri Gate ISBT. And within one week, all the flats were booked, six times over. Most of the big-time builders have failed in their duty to provide a decent one-room flat to those who cannot buy big and luxury flats, says Devendra Gupta, chairman of realty advisory, Century 21, adding, They should also make homes for lower middle-class people. They should settle for less profit. After all, they have some responsibility towards society as well. According to M K Pawar, CMD of Mahaveer Hanuman group, response to their one room project was really great and he says that they never imagined their project would generate such a response. Now, we are allotting flats to people through lottery system, he says. They are offering one-bedroom flats on an area of nearly 500 sq feet at Rs 6.57 lakhs. An official of Union Bank, which is providing loans to allottees of this scheme, said that many young working couple, who could not otherwise afford to buy costly flats, have applied in this scheme. Experts feel that it is high time realtors also made homes for even those who dont have very deep pockets. The number of such people is huge and realtors must not overlook them. They also say that when one-bedroom houses can be constructed in other metros, it is strange realtors have stopped making them Delhi and NCR. However, It seems that after missing an opportunity to construct one-room flats in NCR earlier, some realtors are now going to build affordable homes in places like Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. ILD group managing director, Alimuddin Rafi Ahmed, says that though they have never built one-room flats, now they are in the process of raising such flats in Gurgaon and Sohna for those who cannot pay huge sums to buy their homes. SVP, another key developer from NCR, has concrete plans for building one-room homes in Ghaziabad and other NCR cities. Vijay Jindal, chairman of SVP group, says that there is every possibility that they would also make one-room homes in a covered area of up to 600 sq feet to 700 sq feet. He also said that there is no dearth of people wanting to buy small and compact flats in NCR. Due to non-availability of flats in this price category, they have been living on in rented house. Realtor also says that as there are not enough single-room units available in Delhi and NCR, those few that are available have always found ready customers. Brij Mohan, who works in a Hindi newspaper, said that as his budget is not more than Rs 10 lakh, he had almost resigned to his fate that he could never buy a house, as prices of flats are very high. But once he learnt about the one-room project in Khekhra, he applied at once. There is a great demand for one-room homes in smaller cities too, like Meerut, Gwalior, Vrindavan, Moradabad. Our one-bedroom flats sold like hot cakes in Meerut and Moradabad. They are priced from Rs 6.5 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, says R K Arora, CMD of Supertech Group. Omaxe is making small one-room flats in Vrindavan. A spokesman Omaxe says that they are making one- and two-room apartments in the range of 425 sq ft 985 sq ft, at a starting price of Rs 7.22 lakhs. Meanwhile, the Haryana government has decided to come out with a mega-project in Gurgaon, on over 1,400 acre in Sector 58. There, both Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and private players like DLF, Emaar-MGF as well as ILD are reportedly planning affordable homes. A Haryana government official says that the cost of the flats and type of dwellings are still to be worked out but they would be cheap. In a nutshell, it is very clear that if realty firms make one-room flats, they are sure to find buyers. Courtesy:- Times Property dt:- 09-01-2010
