Monday, August 3, 2009

Puravankara buys 62 acres in Bangalore for Rs 150 cr

Provident Housing, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Bangalore-based Puravankara Group, is learnt to have bought a 62-acre land parcel in the outskirts of Bangalore. The deal is believed to have been struck for a value of Rs 150 crore.

A person involved in the deal said the company is planning a low-cost housing project. The deal between Provident Housing and the seller, who is an individual, was signed earlier this month. “The price paid for the land is quite nominal,” the person added.

A senior official with the group confirmed to ET that the land had been bought, without revealing the size of the transaction. “The land parcel is located on the Mysore road around half-an-hour away from the heart of Bangalore,” he added. This is said to be an outright purchase with Provident Housing, scheduled to make the payment in two tranches. In the first stage, the buyer has paid a nominal token amount at the time of signing the agreement and the balance would be paid when the project is completed.

Recently, many real estate developers have been exploring opportunities in the affordable housing sector. The Puravankara Group will have these projects in Chennai and Bangalore and is negotiating deals in Hyderabad and Coimbatore. It is learnt that deals in Hyderabad and Coimbatore will be finalised in a month.

The affordable housing concept has gained ground with players like Tata Housing launching a project in Boisar, which is a two-and-a-half hour train ride from Mumbai. This project has come to be known as “Nano houses.” Typically, the definition of affordable housing is a price tag of Rs 45 lakh in a tier I city.