‘Buyers Want Bigger, Better Homesand are Willing to Pay for Them’
DLF is betting big on increasing super luxury consumption and 90% of the 11.6 million square feet of projects it plans to launch in FY25 — with total revenue potential of Rs 36,000 crore — will be in the super luxury segment. The proposed launches will include apartments priced Rs 60 crore and above in Gurgaon and villas in Goa priced more than Rs 50 crore, Aakash Ohri, joint managing director at DLF Home Developers Ltd, told ET’s Faizan Haidar in an interaction.
There are some concerns over projects getting sold out within days of launch. DLF has sold out three projects in the last 18 months. Do you think the trend is sustainable in the long term?
We have seen the time when we had Rs 17,000-crore worth of unsold inventory. We have seen the struggle and pain and we don’t want to go back to those days.. We have to motivate brokers and investors. This is the time when people are believing in the DLF story and I don’t have to prove myself to a third party.
My record books are clean and anyone-can come and do random checks. If people are now coming to DLF and believing that their aspirations will be met (and) their money is safe. We are not only selling fast, collecting more money faster, we are also making sure that our delivery schedules are on time to customer expectations.
But have you seen cancellation and trading in the projects you launched and sold within days?
Between over 2,200 apartments across two projects, we have received cancellation of just 34 apartments. We collect Rs 50 lakh rupees as deposit money and it is not a small amount of money for people to trade. Majority of the buyers are end users and have taken informed decisions wanting to live in those ecosystems.
Do you see this trend continuing?
You always have to be cautious in life. No one knows what will happen tomorrow, but as long as we have done the right thing for the future, I am not worried. The business historically has been cyclical. The only difference right now I am seeing in the last two-three years after Covid (is that) people have suddenly started to believe that lifes finite and, therefore, let’s live it up, So, people are consciously spending more money on their homes. They are wanting bigger and better homes with better facilities and they are ready to pay for it.
Super luxury is dominating your launches as per the investor presentation. Has DLF decided to focus only on this segment?
DLF has worked very hard from the Aralia days to build the super luxury business, We have looked at the world for ideas and we have tried to keep it as futuristic as possible.
Land is not cheap in Gurgaon and when we compare Gurgaon to any other place, you must understand that that is where the demand is. And, therefore, super luxury is a business that DLF has invested in and it is a serious business for DLF.
Your pipeline for FY25 is huge, with Rs 36,000-crore worth projects. How have you planned the launches?
We have Mumbai where the first phase will be 900,000 sqft with a sales potential of Rs 3,000crore while Goa will have 62 villas on a 38-acre site with a total sales potential of Rs 2,500 crore. There will be another phase of Privana (in Gurgaon), which will be more than Rs 10,000 crore. And we have Lux5, an ultra-luxury project in DLF5, which will have a total sales potential of Rs 25,000 crore, but we will not sell it in one go. The price point of The Camellias is giving Mumbai a run for their money.
We might have given a sales guidance of Rs 3,500 crore for super luxury, but it doesn’t mean that we are going to stop there. Suppose the business demand is such that there is more to be sold, we will do it.
When people are spending on bags, watches and cars, I see no reason why they can’t invest in real estate.
