Luxury housing just got more exclusive in the city of bankrupt Nizams and nawabs of IT, with Omega Shelters – a JV between Ambience Properties Group and some US based multi-billion dollar family investments trusts – unveiling some of the most exotic species of big-buck homes that the city has ever seen. The project is coming up in Kompally/Medchal area, home to the some of the city’s nouveau riche.
Though the outskirts of the city including locations like Gachibowli have been witnessing construction of high-end, luxury dwelling units, the price at which Asipac, the Bangalore-based firm to have conceived and planned the project, plans to sell the project is quite unprecedented.
The new project is sculpted by Spanish architect Alfonso Peralta and designed by Jaipur-based architect Sharad Maithel. The 44 Spanish villas are being billed as India’s most expensive villas, that is, if you discount some of the homes in Mumbai. The cheapest home here will be Rs 4.5 crore and the costliest – Rs 12 crore. The USP of this Rs 220 crore project will be its Spanish architecture with a Rajasthani touch.
“Indians who have lived abroad are returning to settle down in Hyderabad. And a lot of local Hyderabadis tell us they have been looking for larger luxury homes,” said Amit Bagaria, CEO, Asipac Projects.
What would the potential buyer of the villa get for Rs 12 crores? According to Mahabir Prasad Agarwall, promoter of Omega Shelters, the villas would be spread over 4,000 feet, the least inexpensive ones in the project, to 16,000 sq. feet. Now, here’s where it gets interesting: The 16,000 sq. feet house will have a nice spread of 1.3-acres of lawn. Spread over an area of 50 acres, the villas will come in five sizes. The smallest of them will be about 7,500 square feet and the largest with seven bedrooms, over 16,000 square feet. The bathroom itself will be as large as 1,044 square feet.
“It is not khichdi. It is a coincidence that the two architectural styles are very identical. In Spain, there are a lot of architectural themes which are similar to Arabian architecture,” said M P Agrawall, Developer, Casa Estebana.
A half acre plot in any posh residential locality in Hyderabad today costs about Rs 15 crore for the land alone. Developers expect these properties to be worth three times their price in five years, which means an annualised appreciation of about 25 per cent.
Will there be a demand for such houses? The Villas will easily attract any ‘modern day nawab’ with a desire to wake up to a Spanish ambience or anyone who can make a grand entry into a villa without suffering the funding blues. Mr. Bagaria believes there will be much demand for such projects. “In Bangalore, 45,000 new homes are added every year. For Chennai it is 20,000 and 18,000 new homes are built annually in Hyderabad. A good six per cent of this market is in the premium segment,” he says.
Interestingly, Mr Bagaria, CEO, Asipac Projects, advisers to Omega Shelters, claimed seven bookings have been already been made for the villas. Though this seems like an incredible proposition for Hyderabad, 7 of the 44 posh Spanish villas have already been taken. Refusing to divulge the details of the clientele, Mr. Bagaria said NRIs who have returned to the city and people with business interest in India are among those who have shopped for these villas so far.
The big-ticket villa project is not the only one being handled by Asipac in Hyderabad. Mr Bagaria says Asipac is assisting projects here with apartments and villas priced between Rs 1.75 crores to Rs 15 crores. Out of this, three are in the premium segment and landscaping and water works have begun with work slated to kick-off in December and end 14-15 months later.
The Urban Land Ceiling Act, the bane of real estate development in Andhra Pradesh, will not be applicable in Kompally, because it is a gram panchayat, Mr. Agarwall, one of the biggest builders in the twin cities, says. With the Rs 12 crore price tag per villa, Hyderabad appears to have shot past the price of Rs 10 crores for a villa in Mumbai and the Rs three crores for an apartment in Bangalore, developed by the Mantri group.
But does the project “Casa Estebana” mark the heralding of a new era in the real estate history of Hyderabad? Are gated communities becoming a real estate norm in the city? “Yes,” says Kavita Reddy, director, City Square Enterprises Pvt Ltd (Happy Homes).
“The palate of Hyderabadis is just evolving, be it in terms of exotic cuisines, branded clothes or branded, exotic homes. People are getting richer and willing to shell out money for a house that gives them everything—from a jacuzzi to security, privacy and loads of peace of mind,” Reddy said. Agrees Shyam Prasad Reddy, MD, CEO, Indu Group.
“I have enquiries from many people including CEOs of big companies here for a prim and proper house in a gated community. Be it for individual tastes or for the comfort of firang guests, a big, posh house is becoming a necessity for many people. And people are willing to pay a price for that kind of luxury and comfort,” Reddy said.
But not all builders are willing to venture into the terrain of high-end houses, not yet. “There is a market for gated communities in Hyderabad. Thanks to the many MNCs that have set shop here. Agreed. But for a house at a gated community for a price beyond Rs 3 crore? No, not yet. A house priced beyond Rs 3 crore will not sell here for at least another 5-6 years” said Satchidanand Reddy, former president, AP Builders’ Association.
It’s not just a question of affordability. People in the business of pricey homes are also clear about what kind of people should live in them “We want people who wish to make their first home in Casa Estebana, who do not look at it as an investment,” Bagaria said.
Hyderabad Real Estate 