Realty major DLF will invest around Rs 80 billion to develop an ultra-luxury housing project in Gurugram as it seeks to encash strong demand for premium homes. Last month, DLF did a pre-launch of its 17-acre super-luxury housing project 'The Dahlias' at DLF 5, Gurugram, after obtaining all regulatory approvals and has received a good response from customers. The company will develop around 420 apartments in this project, which is the second ultra-luxury offering from DLF after the successful delivery of 'The Camellias'. In a conference call with analysts held recently, DLF's Managing Director Ashok Tyagi informed that the company is expecting Rs 260 billion in revenue from this new super-luxury project in Gurugram based on the current pre-launch price. "In RERA, what we have filed now is the revenue of Rs 260 billion based on the pre-launch price. These numbers will obviously keep on going upwards, as prices keep on moving," Tyagi had said while replying to a query regarding the revenue potential of this project. The minimum size of an apartment is 10,300 sq ft. Elaborating more on the super-luxury project, Tyagi said the construction cost in this project will be very high at around Rs 18,000 per square feet because of expenditure on infrastructure, an artificial lake and a 4 lakh sq feet club. The selling price currently is around Rs 1 lakh per square feet of carpet area. DLF's subsidiary DLF Home Developers Joint Managing Director Aakash Ohri noted that this project would be a lot better than its previous super-luxury project The Camellias, which of late has seen few secondary market deals of over Rs 100 crore for an apartment. "I am very humbled by the response we have got so far for The Dahlias. Today, people are looking for the best lifestyle that money can buy, and 'The Dahlias' is today that option," Ohri told analysts. He noted that this project once completed would be counted among the best luxury properties in the world. Ohri hoped to repeat the success that the company achieved in 'The Camellias' project, generating around Rs 125 billion in revenue against the initial estimate of Rs 70 billion. With the launch of this high-value project, DLF is confident of meeting its sales guidance of Rs 170 billion for this fiscal. The company has a strong launch pipeline in the second half of this fiscal as it plans to launch projects in Mumbai and Goa. DLF has reported a 66 per cent increase in its sales bookings to Rs 70.94 billion in the first half of this fiscal on strong housing demand. The company has been able to achieve growth in sales bookings during the April-September period of this fiscal because of strong performance in the first quarter. DLF's sales bookings jumped over three-fold to around Rs 64 billion during the first quarter of this fiscal from Rs 20.4 billion in the year-ago period. However, in the second quarter of 2024-25, the sales bookings fell 69 per cent to Rs 6.92 billion from Rs 22.28 billion in the corresponding period of the preceding year. In its latest investors presentation, DLF pointed out that there has been a "moderation in sales on account of delay in receiving requisite approvals for new product launches". DLF noted that the outlook for the residential segment continues to be strong, and its housing business continues to exhibit steady performance. It is the country's largest real estate firm in market capitalisation.
