It’s a known fact that Goans prefer large dwelling units, but, of late, quite a few builders have started constructing one bedroom-hall-kitchen (1 BHK) flats. A decade ago, this might have surprised a lot of people.
But today, land is has become pricey in Goa, and construction cost going skywards. Due to this, it is near impossible for a builder to provide a 2 BHK flat to an end-consumer for less than Rs 45 lakh. A ticket price of Rs 45 lakh is unaffordable to a vast segment of buyers, which makes them opt for 1 BHK flats.
Chinmay Borkar, director, Akar Realty, said, “Due to slowdown, the purchasing capacity of people has been affected, which is forcing them to choose 1 BHK flats. Such flats are ideal for a newly-married couple who also have an ancestral house, but have to live in and around cities like Panaji and Margao to make a living.”
Borkar has constructed 1 BHK flats in his project called ‘Akar Excelsior’ in Colva. He continued, “To my mind, the fair price for a 1 BHK in Margao should be around Rs 30 lakh. Now, if you have to make a 2 BHK, you will have to provide an additional room and balcony, which increases the price by another Rs 10 lakh, thus making it unaffordable for many buyers.”
Over the years, the land bank in the State is shrinking. Moreover, the floor-area-ratio (FAR) is much lesser here than big cities like Mumbai and Delhi. As a result of this, the proportion of built-up area to the total plot area in Goa is much less than metro cities. This limits the supply of land for construction, which invariably shoots up the price.
Dr Jagannath (Desh) Prabhudessai, president of the Goa unit of CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India), said, “Earlier two BHKs in Panaji used to admeasure around 150 sq mts. But now, builders make 2 BHKs within 90-100 sq mts as cost of land has become expensive.”
Borkar concurred with Prabhudessai as he said, “Whenever I plan a project, I tell my architects that I don’t want a 2 BHK to be more than 90 sq mts, as that increases the final price of the flat.”
Given that a 2 BHK of 90 sq mts doesn’t cost less than Rs 45 lakh, builders have to design 1 BHKs for those who can’t afford a 2 BHK. A typical 1 BHK flat is somewhere around 55-60 sq mts and costs anywhere between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 35 lakh.
Interestingly, all those who go for a 1 BHK flat don’t do this on account of 2 BHKs costing more. There’s another segment as well. Prapanch Ravi, sales manager, NaikNavare Developers, said, “In our ‘Esmeralda’ project at Kadamba Plateau, we are providing studio apartments of around 70 sq mts to buyers. A lot of people from South Goa travel to the North of the State for parties and don’t want to go back the same day; for such a segment, a studio apartment is a good investment.”
Ravi continued, “Besides, ticket-price also comes into picture. A lot of people who want to buy real estate for less than Rs 50 lakh also go for studio apartments. We are offering studio apartments at Rs 42 lakh, including taxes and even two years’ maintenance.”
NaikNavare Developers’ strategy is different as its studio apartments, at 70 sq mts, are bigger than a typical 1 BHK, which is not more than 60 sq mts. That being the reason, NaikNavare Developers is targeting premium clientele.
The good thing for people buying one BHKs/studio apartments in projects like Esmeralda and Akar Excelsior is they get to enjoy amenities viz swimming pools and gymnasiums. This is because builders make one BHKs in the same complex in which they are making two and three BHKs, which are aimed at high income customers, who demand such amenities.
This may be good for buyers but it poses a challenge to builders. Sahil Adwalpalkar of Adwalpalkar Constructions, said, “The number of flats in a project goes up once you start building one BHK flats along with two and three BHKs. And, this also puts pressure on parking space and other common areas.”
Adwalpalkar continued, “We make one BHK flats only in outskirt areas like Marcel and Giri. For projects in Panaji, we focus only on two and three BHKs.”
It is tough for a builder to adapt to the challenges one BHK flats pose to them. This being the reason, sometimes, builders even stop making one BHK flats and focus solely on bigger flats.
But, few events have occurred in Goa in the recent past, which show that the demand for one BHKs will only rise going forward. One, economic slowdown occurred which affected the purchasing capacity of people. Granted that real estate prices didn’t increase manifold, but they didn’t come down either as they remained more or less flat in the last couple of years.
Two, the state government has announced an information technology (IT) park in Chimbel and an electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) park in Tuem. Such parks, as and when they come to fruition, will attract people in large numbers for employment and a lot of them will go for smaller accommodation like one BHK on account of affordability.
Ravi added, “IT park in Chimbel is quite close to Kadamba Plateau. Besides, super-specialty hospital is coming up at Kadamba Plateau as well. This shows that the demand for one BHK and studio apartments will only increase.”
