The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has come up with more than 100 apartments priced at Rs 1.04 crore in southern Bengaluru's Nagarbhavi area.
This is the first time that the Authority has come up with units priced above Rs 1 crore. The project is about double the cost of BDA's previous residential projects, which are usually priced below Rs 50 lakh.
The project consists of 120 apartments on a little over 1 acre, and has 10 floors with 12 units per floor. There are two stations to charge electric vehicles (EVs) within the complex, apart from 132 parking slots. It is also close to the Nayandahalli metro station and the recently constructed Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway.
These are ready-to-move-in apartments and buyers can book them on a first-come-first serve basis.
About 30 apartments have already been booked and about 250 enquiries have come in, a top BDA official told Moneycontrol.
Apartment specifications
The 3BHK apartments have a carpet area of 1250 square feet (sq ft), and are serviced with six lifts. The parking slots are priced at an additional Rs 2.5 lakh. Buyers will also have to pay a maintenance fee of Rs 2,000-3,000 per month.
The complex has an onsite borewell to augment the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board water supply, but this too comes at an additional cost.
Common amenities
There is not much bang for those bucks. Built in a congested residential area of southern Bengaluru, the project lacks open green spaces. A concrete road runs around the project that serves as a walking track.
It also lacks a clubhouse, though it has a recreational room of about 200 sq ft that will also house a gymnasium and an indoor games room with a mini library.
Solar water heater connections are provided only to flats on the top floor, despite Bengaluru’s municipal body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) having clarified that solar water heaters and rooftop solar panels are mandatory across all floors, as Moneycontrol reported earlier.
While the project comes with gated security, BDA officials said CCTV cameras will have to be installed by the residents’ welfare association (RWA) once the project is handed over to them.
"The common areas will be maintained at the cost of BDA until the project is conveyed to the RWA," the BDA official said.
Land title
The project stands on a land parcel certified as A Khata (a document that is considered legal), BDA officials said.
However, they added that a land litigation case filed three years ago delayed the project for some months but after winning the case in the Karnataka High Court, BDA completed the construction of the project, adding that there is now clear title to the land.
Should you invest?
Real estate brokers say Nagarbhavi is located on the city’s outskirts and is some distance away from the central business district. The area is a part of old Bengaluru and mainly comprises private residences.
Currently, the apartment cost in the area is about Rs 10,000-11,000 per square foot, while the BDA is selling the flats at an effective rate of about Rs 10,400 per sq ft.
One broker pointed out that within a 10-15-minute drive distance from the project, two private developers are selling premium 3BHK apartments at Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore with several amenities like clubhouses, swimming pools, etc.
Kiran Kumar from Hanu Reddy Realty believes the BDA project is overpriced compared offerings from local developers in the area.
Though BDA said the resale and renting out of the apartments are allowed after purchase, real estate brokers pointed out the low rental return in the area.
"Today, a 3BHK rent in Nagarbhavi is about Rs 25,000 per month. Banashankhari, the closest happening part of the city, is about 7 km away, and rental returns are almost 30 percent higher. Additionally, the IT hubs or commercial areas are more than 10 km away from the area," he added.
On their part, BDA officials said, their target customers are well-settled families in the age range of 40-50 years.
The apartments can be booked by visiting the BDA website or contacting their head office in Bengaluru.
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