The appetite for land acquisition continues unabated for developers and other entities in the post-pandemic world. Players with the financial wherewithal are eyeing prime land at key locations across India to deploy developments across real estate asset classes.

ANAROCK Research reveals that between January 2022 till date, various entities sealed at least 28 separate land deals cumulatively accounting for over 1,237 acres across the country. Of the total transacted land, at least 18 deals accounting for 351 acres are earmarked for multiple residential projects across cities.

At least 3 deals for over 115 acres are proposed for data centers, while two deals for over 63 acres are for logistics and warehousing projects. At least 4 deals for over 108 acres are for mixed-use developments. A single, currently anonymous land deal for 600 acres has taken place in Hyderabad.

• Hyderabad remained highly buoyant in the period, with the most land transactions – 5 separate deals for 715 acres accounted for over 59% of the total land transacted between Jan to date. These included one for 600 acres (development type not yet revealed)
• Bengaluru saw 3 separate deals for a total of 140 acres earmarked for residential, mixed-use, and logistics developments
• NCR also sealed 5 separate deals accounting for 9% of the total land deals in this period with approx. 106.3 acres. This includes 2 deals for a total of 91 acres in Gurugram, and one deal each in Delhi, Faridabad, and Noida. The proposed developments include residential, mixed-use, and warehousing
• Pune saw 5 separate deals for over 91.1 acres of land, accounting for 7% of the total land area transacted pan-India. All are proposed for residential development
• Land-starved MMR saw 5 deals involving 54.85 acres, all earmarked for residential developments
• Chennai saw 1 deal for 5.5 acres where a mixed-use development has been proposed
• Tier 2 & 3 cities with major land deals included Ahmedabad (2 deals for over 6 acres), Nagpur (1 deal for over 58 acres), and Sonipat (1 deal for over 50 acres)

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Group, said “The leading developers and entities who bought land parcels for residential developments include Godrej Properties, Oberoi Realty, Mahindra LifeSpaces, Gaurs Group, Birla Estates, Hetero Group, Microsoft, and Mapletree Logistics, among others.”

Land remains an important focus area for the sector post-Covid, with many well-capitalized developers and other entities sealing deals in the first five months of 2022.

Top Land Deals Across Cities

Source: ANAROCK Research

“In comparison to H1 2021, the number of deals has doubled – from 14 deals in H1 2021 to 28 deals between January 2022 till date. And there’s more than a month to go for the half-year mark. As expected, residential development remains the prime focus, given the robust housing demand that has lost little of its steam despite interest rates and property price hikes. However, these two factors may yet reflect in the momentum going forward” said Puri.

About the author- Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Group