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Affordable housing is not low-cost housing and Puravankara Projects Ltd (PPL) sees great potential in this segment as it is not limited to tier-II cities but can be extended to metros as well, according to Jackbastian K. Nazareth, Group CEO, PPL, Bangalore.
He said the company, which targets this segment through its subsidiary Provident Housing Ltd (PHL), will be launching an affordable home project in Coimbatore in the price range of Rs 17.29 lakh-plus to Rs 38.82 lakh-plus.
Speaking to newspersons here on Wednesday in connection with the launch of ‘Provident GreenPark’, he said PHL has tested the affordable housing concept in Bangalore and Chennai and has now brought it to Coimbatore. It plans to take it to other major cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Vizag, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
Emphasising the potential in this segment, he said Provident Housing now accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the business of Puravankara projects. He said 5,000 families have settled in PHL’s projects and he expected PHL’s share of business to grow in the future.
Asked what motivated the company to launch a new project in the Coimbatore market flush with unsold properties, Nazareth said PHL was able to sell its units even amidst a recession in Chennai. He said Provident as a product, because of its valuation and price, “is a commodity that sells well”. From a sales perspective, he felt “Provident is recession proof”.
On whether the company saw great potential in “affordable housing” because of its popularity now, he said there was a misconception that affordable housing meant launching projects at specific cost. He said the term applied more to the builder rather than to the buyer and PHL was successful since it was able to deliver projects at a particular price. Puravankara would continue to focus on luxury housing for which there was a separate buyer segment.
He sought to clarify that affordable housing was not a stripped-down version of luxury housing, shorn of common facilities such as a gym, community hall and swimming pool. He said in the Bangalore project, there were only two types of apartments — 2BHK and 3BHK. A similar product from others might have multiple configurations.
Nazareth said as a group, Puravankara planned to launch about 10 million sq.ft during the current year, of which 4 million sq.ft would be from Provident Housing. He said what is on offer is a “value architect” and ‘Provident GreenPark’ in Coimbatore, despite the affordable price tag, comes with facilities such as a swimming pool, children’s play area and jogging track.
He said after Coimbatore, the company would be launching projects in Hyderabad and Mysore this year, to be followed by Mumbai and Delhi, all subject to approvals.
V. Madhu, Managing Director, Provident Housing, commenting on the new land acquisition rules, feared that this would push up the land cost for builders.
‘Provident GreenPark’ is coming up on a 9-acre site in Selvapuram in Coimbatore with 560 units of 1,2 and 3 bedroom flats.
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