DLF sells all 1,137 flats in Gurugram project within 3 days for over Rs 8,000 cr

New Delhi: Realty major DLF Ltd on Thursday announced the sale of its entire luxury project in Gurugram, comprising 1,137 flats each costing Rs 7 crore and above, for over Rs 8,000 crore within 3 days, reflecting a strong demand for premium flats across major cities.

In an interview with PTI, DLF CEO Ashok Tyagi and group executive director Aakash Ohri described the sales bookings of USD 1-billion within such a short span as "historical' and "a record" in Indian residential real estate market.

Asked about the overall sales bookings of DLF in the current fiscal, Tyagi said it would be around Rs 15,000 crore as against Rs 7,273 crore in the previous year.

DLF, which is India's largest realty firm in market cap, will most likely become the biggest player during this fiscal in terms of sales bookings as well.

After a gap of 10 years, DLF last month pre-launched a group housing project, 'The Arbour', on Golf Course Extension Road, Sector 63, Gurugram.

"We have sold the entire project within 3 days (February 15-17) of pre-launch for more than Rs 8,000 crore," Ohri said, adding that the project was to be formally launched on February 24.

The project comprises 1,137 identical 4 BHK apartments, each of 3,950 square feet, with various luxury amenities and greenery. It will build only five towers (38-39 storeys) in this 25-acre project over the next four years.

Ohri said the company received applications from around 3,600 customers.

"We allotted flats through lottery system," he said, adding that the booking amount worth Rs 800 crore has already been received from the buyers.

Ohri highlighted that around 90 per cent of the flats have been purchased by end-users, predominantly by top and senior executives of big corporate firms.

The non-resident Indians' (NRIs) share in total sales was 14 per cent.

Asked about the reason for strong demand, Ohri said, "It is the latent demand for the DLF product. We have launched a group housing project in Gurugram after a gap of 10 years." The buoyancy in the residential market seen in the last two years also helped, he said, adding that people want bigger, better and branded homes.

Initially, the company targeted to sell only 45 per cent of units in this fourth quarter and rest in the two subsequent quarters, Ohri said.

Tyagi, the DLF CEO, noted that people are upgrading to bigger homes, especially after the Covid pandemic. He said the demand is strong across tier I and II cities amid tight supply.

Tyagi said the large trusted players are gaining market shares.

Earlier in the day, DLF informed stock exchanges that it has "witnessed record breaking pre-formal launch sales of Rs 8,000-plus crores for its luxury high-rise residences The Arbour".

The interest shown by discerning homebuyers in the country and overseas is clearly an endorsement of the highly aspirational DLF lifestyle, he said.

In January, DLF had said it will launch this project with an estimated sales revenue of around Rs 7,500 crore.

"Demand of real estate across various price points is very strong, especially for products offered by trusted developers," Ohri said.

DLF achieved a 45 per cent growth in sales bookings to Rs 6,599 crore in April-December period of this fiscal.

DLF's sales bookings stood at Rs 4,544 crore in the year-ago period.

DLF has launched residential projects in Delhi, Gurugram, Panchkula and Chennai this fiscal.

DLF has two verticals -- development business and rental business.

It has developed more than 153 real estate projects and developed an area in excess of 330 million square feet.

DLF Group has 215 million square feet of development potential across the residential and commercial segments.

Rent-yielding commercial assets are largely held by DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), which is a joint venture firm between DLF and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. DLF holds nearly 67 per cent stake in the joint venture.