Money alone can’t buy you this flat in Mumbai

You cannot choose your relatives but you can choose your neighbours, goes an old saying. Or so thought Shailesh Shah, a businessman from Goregaon who, in 2006, wanted to move to a plush apartment in a swanky society with the city’s movers and shakers as his neighbours.

A long house hunt led him to a scheme at JVPD (Juhu Vile Parle Depot) in Vile Parle. Even though Shah was willing to shell out the big bucks, the developer kept him waiting. “I approached the builder three times, but they would not seal the deal,” said Shah.

Three months later, he got a call from the developer saying he can complete the formalities to take possession of the Rs1.5-crore flat. By then, the builder had done comprehensive research on the prospective buyer — Shah’s family background, profile of his start-up company, education, etc.

Since then, Shah’s experience has become more widespread. City developers in the past five years have taken to the concept of selling flats ‘by-invitation’ in a big way, though in the high-end, luxury sector.

Targeting the ‘aspirational’ buyer
“The logic, for me, is simple. The majority of my projects are redevelopment schemes and are located in areas where the residents are vegetarians. While business interests do dominate in selling flats only to vegetarians, it has not stopped me from selling flats to different communities and giving my building a cosmopolitan ambience. The decision (to sell only to vegetarians) is also a matter of personal belief since I believe myself to be a conservative Jain,” said a low-profile developer who has 10 luxury, ‘by invitation’ schemes ongoing in the predominant Gujarati locality of JVPD. The invitation, of course, is open only to wealthy vegetarians.  

While the kind of food the buyer eats is one criterion, for other developers, financial status, educational and professional background, and criminal antecedents are some of the factors that count while filtering out buyers.

“In the 1990s, many buildings were constructed in Nariman Point. But people today only remember the NCPA building. This was due to the right mix of individuals who came to live there — the top industrialists, businessman, writers, etc. We want The Imperial to be known as the next generation NCPA.
That is why we are particular about what kind of individuals come to live in this building,” says Amit Thacker, director of SD Corporation, which is constructing The Imperial, India’s tallest twin 60-storey building, at Tardeo. He adds, “Our target clients are elite and small in number. That is why you will never find us advertising our project.

Besides, the uniqueness of our project, in the sense of its being India’s tallest building, the price of apartments, the location, and the kind of facilities are also factors that in our decision to sell flats only by invitation to like-minded people,” says Thacker, matter-of-factly.

Kamal Khetan, managing director of Suntech developers, seconds Thacker’s views. “We are not creating any class barriers. We are only seeking to fulfill the aspirational (sic) demands of a buyer,” said Khetan. 

Real estate analysts assert that having money alone doesn’t suffice to earn an invitation to these exclusive projects. “It is the lifestyle of the buyer that matters the most, because people who buy these apartments want to live in a community that  has the best lifestyle standards and social status,” says the head of a global real estate firm. “So ‘By Invitation’ is the new marketing tag created by builders to generate ‘aspirational’ demand.” And what’s more, there are many who don’t mind paying the premium for that ‘extra’ luxury.

Luxury unlimited
On offer are a larger living space with two reserved car parks per flat; swimming pool; a club with restaurants, tennis and squash courts; three-tier security check with video phone and closed circuit TV; and a pollution-free environment. Above all, it’s about living with ‘your kind of people’, the class of people you see yourself as belonging to.

Oberoi Constructions, for example, sold a few flats in Skyz, a 65-storey residential building in Worli, at prices upward of Rs30 crore, purely on invitation basis. This twin-tower, 65-storey structure in the heart of Mumbai will have duplex apartments of 8,950 sq ft each, with floor-to-ceiling windows opening to a sky deck, a temperature-controlled indoor swimming pool,  sky lobbies, and a little water body inside each duplex. Kishore Biyani, chairman of the Future Group, Akash Bhansali of Enam Financial, and speculation has it, actor Akshay Kumar too have purchased an apartment in this building.

There are other projects that command jaw-dropping prices. At  Lodha Bellissimo, a 48-storey  structure, flat prices start at Rs25 crore. On Pedder Road, a tower built by Ispat Industries and developer Sameer Bhojwani offers 18 super-luxury, duplex flats of 6,000 sq ft each at Rs75,000 a sq ft, or Rs45 crore, an apartment.

The astronomically high price for the luxury apartment is also inclusive of the membership fee for entering a community of affluence. Developers, too, have cottoned on to the luxury home market. It is a significant niche market that gives huge returns and does not require the huge investment in marketing that the mass housing segment demands.

So, an entire breed of builders have emerged to cater to the luxury segment. Like Suresh Raheja, who’s pioneered the duplex 6,000 sq ft flats, or the Munots of the Kalpataru Group, the first to come up with apartments starting only from the 15th floor to give all their buyers a sea view.