Chennai leads in total land area transactions: Report

MUMBAI: Domestic real estate developers’ post-COVID focus on land acquisition shows no signs of slowing down, with prime land parcels being targeted across India for various types of developments.

Anarock data indicates that in fiscal year 2022-23, approx. 87 separate land deals were sealed cumulatively accounting for over 1,862 acres. In contrast, the previous FY-2021-22 saw 44 land deals accounting for approx 1,649 acres closed across several cities.

Of all deals closed in FY-23, at least 76 accounting for approx 1,059 acres were in the top 7 cities, and the remaining 11 deals accounting for approx. 803 acres took place in Tier 2 and 3 cities including Ahmedabad, Kurukshetra, Lucknow, Nagpur, Panchkula, Panipat, Raigad and Surat.

Among the top 7 cities, MMR saw the most with 25 land deals accounting for over 267 acres, followed by NCR with 23 land deals of approx. 274 acres. In terms of total land area transacted in the top 7 cities, Chennai topped out with approx 292 acres changing hands in 9 separate deals.

“With land becoming scarcer amid the unfettered real estate development boom, leading players are pulling out all the stops to secure the best land parcels in key locations,” says Anuj Puri, Chairman - Anarock Group. “In the last financial year, the number of land deals has risen significantly – from 44 in FY22 to 87 in FY23. However, in terms of area, the increase was just 13% - implying that several smaller plots were closed in FY23.” “With residential sales in the top 7 cities scaling an all-time high in the last financial year (approx 3.8 lakh units), large and listed developers have been cashing in on the unrelenting housing boom. With land being the key input commodity for real estate development, these players have been making strategic land investments across prominent micro-markets and quite a few smaller deals took place in the last financial year.”