Over 1.7k flats unsold, GDA may not increase property rates this fiscal

Ghaziabad: With 1,748 flats worth over Rs 500 crore in its various housing schemes still unsold, Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) may not revise the property rates in the current financial year.
If the proposal gets the board’s approval in its meeting later this week, it will be the fifth consecutive year when the rates will have remained unchanged.

Currently, the per unit cost for EWS units — 1, 2, 3 BHKs, mini LIG, LIG, and EWS flats — in GDA properties ranges from Rs 5.7 lakh to Rs 69.42 lakh in different housing schemes.
The agency is offering a sweetener because GDA properties have failed to attract buyers for some time now — only 166 flats have been sold since 2019.
Of the over 1,700 unsold flats in various GDA housing schemes, nearly 1,200 are in Madhuban Bapudham (663) and Koyal Enclave (617) housing projects. Nearly 400 flats in the Indraprastha housing project are also unsold.
Fifty-one inventories at Sanjaypuri and 28 at Chandrashila are also unsold.
In Oct 2023, GDA introduced an online first-come-first-serve scheme for its unsold properties in eight housing schemes.
The development authority also allowed home buyers to deposit just 10% of a property’s cost upfront online. The remaining amount could be paid within three years in 12 instalments.
The scheme, however, failed to evoke much interest.
Real estate experts say the GDA flats have fewer amenities as compared to what private realtors offer. “Also, there is too much paperwork for purchasing GDA’s properties as compared to buying it from private builders. It is unlikely that unchanged property rates will evoke buyer interest any more than what it has done in the past years. Instead, the Authority should resort to aggressive marketing for their properties. They must also provide essential amenities at their projects,” Ashish Kumar, a local real estate agent, said.