The land is still the most precious resource amid rapid urbanization and quite a lot of this finite resource changed hands across the top cities during the pandemic. ANAROCK data indicates that many developers and entities sealed around 45 separate land deals cumulatively accounting for over 1,757 acres of area across the top 7 cities between Q3 2020 and November 2021.

Of the total transacted land area, approx. 69% or 1,205 acres are proposed to be developed into multiple residential projects across these cities. The total development potential of these deals works out to at least 45-50 Mn sq. ft. of the residential area.

As many as 28 residential land deals were closed across the cities in the last year:

• Land-starved MMR saw 11 land deals involving 768 acres of the area – a 64% share of the total 1,205 acres of planned residential development across the top cities
• NCR came a distant second with 4 separate deals accounting for 12% of the total land deals with approx. 150 acres earmarked for development. This includes 3 deals for a total of 77 acres in Gurugram and one deal for over 73 acres in Noida
• Kolkata saw 2 separate deals for over 92 acres of land on a joint development agreement (JDA) basis
• Hyderabad witnessed 2 separate land deals for a total of 78 acres
• Bengaluru saw 5 separate deals for a total of 59 acres earmarked for residential development, Pune saw 3 deals for approx. 42 acres and Chennai saw 1 deal for 16+ acres.

The top developers who bought land parcels for residential developments include Godrej Properties, Sunteck Realty, Ashiana Housing, Mahindra LifeSpaces, M3M Group, and Runwal Developers.

“The last 7-8 months before COVID-19 (March 2020) saw limited land deals as the real estate industry was grappling with liquidity issues at the time,” says Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman – ANAROCK Group. “Then COVID-19 brought the sector to a virtual standstill for 3-4 months. For about a year, developers preferred to either service their debts or complete previously-launched projects.”

“However, from Q3 2020, activity resumed and several landowners who previously held fast to their land put their holdings up for sale. Resultantly, some prominent deals took place in the last year, at more or less the same price points as the previous year. Many developers with the financial wherewithal saw this period as opportune to secure good land parcels in key micro-markets across the top 7 cities.”

Top Land Deals Across Cities

Source: ANAROCK Research

Proposed Developments – Other Segments

Besides proposed residential developments, industrial, commercial, data centers, and retail also saw land acquired for development:

• Out of the total of 45 land deals for over 1,757 acres, at least six deals for 411 acres of land are earmarked for a logistics & industrial park and township. Of this, two deals for over 275 acres were closed in Gurugram, followed by two deals in Chennai for over 83 acres, and one each in Howrah and MMR for 31 acres and 22 acres, respectively
• For mixed-use developments, three land deals for over 58 acres were closed – one each in MMR, Chennai, and Gurugram
• At least five deals for at least 44 acres were closed for commercial developments in Bengaluru (3) and MMR (2). The details for one of these deals have not been disclosed
• At least 30 acres are proposed to be utilized for data centers in Navi Mumbai
• Approx. 9 acres have been earmarked for two separate retail developments

About the author- Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman – ANAROCK Group