Mumbai: Indian real estate developers’ post-Covid focus on land acquisition shows no signs of slowing down, with prime land parcels being targeted across India for various types of developments.
Analysis of land deal data by Anarock group indicates that in fiscal year 2022-23, about 87 separate land deals were sealed cumulatively accounting for over 1,862 acres. In contrast, the previous FY-2021-22 saw 44 land deals accounting for 1,649 acres closed across various cities.
Of all deals closed in FY-23, at least 76 deals measuring 1,059 acres were sealed in the top seven cities, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Delhi-NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru and the remaining 11 deals accounting for 803 acres took place in tier 2 and 3 cities including Ahmedabad, Kurukshetra, Lucknow, Nagpur, Panchkula, Panipat, Raigad and Surat.
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Among the top seven cities, MMR saw the most with 25 land deals accounting for over 267 acres, followed by NCR with 23 land deals of 274 acres. In terms of total land area transacted in the top 7 cities, Chennai topped out with 292 acres changing hands in nine separate deals.
“With land becoming scarcer amid the unfettered real estate development boom, leading players are pulling out all the stops to secure the best land parcels in key locations,” says Anuj Puri, chairman-Anarock Group. “In the last financial year, the number of land deals has risen significantly – from 44 in FY22 to 87 in FY23. However, in terms of area, the increase was just 13% – implying that several smaller plots were closed in FY23.”
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“With residential sales in the top seven cities scaling an all-time high in the last financial year (3.8 lakh units), large and listed developers have been cashing in on the unrelenting housing boom. With land being the key input commodity for real estate development, these players have been making strategic land investments across prominent micro-markets and quite a few smaller deals took place in the last financial year,” the report added.
Of the total land deals in FY-23, 57 separate deals for over 951 acres have been proposed for residential or plotted developments.
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Proposed developments
- MMR saw the highest number of land transactions with 19 acquisitions proposed for residential or plotted developments accounting for approx. 193 acres, followed by NCR with 9 deals for approx. 192 acres, and Chennai with 7 separate land deals for approx. 194 acres
- In terms of commercial and retail-related land deals, we saw 11 separate transactions for approx. 46.5 acres. Of these, 9 deals accounting for approx. 38 acres were closed in NCR; Ahmedabad and Surat saw one land deal each
- At least 714 acres acquired in 8 separate land deals have been earmarked for mixed-use and township developments in cities including NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Panchkula and Panipat
- Approx. 83 acres in 3 separate deals were closed for data centres in cities like MMR and Pune
- At least 2 deals for over 13 acres were closed for warehousing & industrial developments in MMR and NCR
- BPO and hospitality, and yet-to-be-disclosed sectors, saw 6 deals for approx. 54.5 acres closed in cities like MMR, Hyderabad, and Chennai
The top developers who bought land parcels for various developments in FY-23 include Godrej Properties, Birla Estates, Gaurs Group, Sobha Ltd., Oberoi Realty, Ajmera Realty, Mahindra LifeSpaces, M3M Group, and Gera Developers, among others.
Top land deals across cities:
