Real Estate Developers Expand Plotted Projects in Tier 2 and 3 Cities
BENGALURU: Real estate developers are expanding their horizons by launching plotted projects in new locations beyond the metros, as demand and prices soar. This marks a new trend in the property market, with plotted projects and villa developments emerging as lucrative business opportunities. A number of such projects are set to be launched in cities like Mangaluru, Indore, Nagpur, Prayagraj, Amritsar, Kochi, and peripheral areas of large cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai.
While major developers such as Godrej Properties Ltd have traditionally focused on top-tier cities for residential projects, they are now actively purchasing land for plotted projects in smaller cities. Plots are usually sold as standalone properties or as part of a larger residential project. Given their price appreciation and lack of construction risk, they are attractive investment products.
Plotted developments involve large areas of land that developers acquire and divide into smaller individual plots for sale to buyers. These plots are sold after securing all legal approvals and setting up essential infrastructure such as boundary walls, internal roads, water pipelines, drainage and sewage networks, electricity connections, and streetlights. Developers are adding value-added features to make the plots more attractive.
In 2024-25, The House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), a leading plotted developer, added 278 acres or 12 million sq. ft of plots across Khopoli, Neral, and Alibaug in Maharashtra and in Goa. Cities in the pipeline include Nagpur, Amritsar, Varanasi, and Shimla. “For generations, Indians have held gold and land close to their hearts. But while gold was relatively simpler to buy, land came with age-old challenges — most of which HoABL has addressed, be it titles, security, liquidity, or convenience,” said Abhinandan Lodha, chairman of HoABL.
Delhi-based Omaxe Ltd has launched plotted projects in Amritsar, Indore, Prayagraj, Ratlam, and Palwal over the past year, along with additional phases in Lucknow, cities that represent the next wave of demand in northern India. “We see a healthy mix of interest coming from end-users, upwardly mobile families, local business owners, NRIs (non-resident Indians), and investors who prefer land for its steady appreciation and low maintenance profile,” said Mohit Goel, managing director of Omaxe.
Over the next year, Omaxe plans to launch plotted projects in Bareilly, Ludhiana, Bhatinda, Vrindavan, Hathras, Gorakhpur, Ujjain, and Patiala, among other cities. Prices of plots near some large cities have increased at a faster pace than prices of apartments over the past two years. Bengaluru-based Prestige Group, which has launched multiple plotted projects this year, reported prices rising 17% year-on-year to an average of ₹8,425 per sq. ft as of 30 September. In comparison, apartment prices climbed 6% to an average of ₹13,769 per sq. ft during this period, as per Prestige’s latest investor presentation.
In Ayodhya, where HoABL was the first to launch branded plots, prices at a project named The Sarayu launched in 2023-24 at ₹10,820 per sq. ft have appreciated to ₹14,450 per sq. ft. Mayank Saksena, managing director and CEO - land services at Anarock Property Consultants, said plotted projects give more flexibility to buyers compared to certain constraints that buying apartments entails. “There is a huge rush among people to buy corner plots. The fact that plotted projects today come with better amenities and clubhouses has led to high price appreciation. Unlike earlier when plots were bought mainly as investment, more buyers want to construct homes and actually use them,” he said.
Real estate companies are also making plot-buying easier. Lodha said that its tech-enabled platform lets customers view, interact, and purchase land at their convenience. From January to June this year, about 504 acres were purchased to develop plots and villas in cities such as Indore, Ahmedabad, Panipat, Bengaluru, and Mumbai Metropolitan Region, according to Anarock. The emergence of tier 2 and 3 cities as significant contributors to the national land transaction ecosystem has been noteworthy. “These markets, once considered peripheral to mainstream real estate activity, now represent an inalienable component of the Indian real estate growth horizon – challenging the historical metro-centric model,” Saksena added.
Ahmedabad-based Arvind SmartSpaces, after focusing on real estate projects in Gujarat, Bengaluru, and Pune, ventured into the Mumbai Metropolitan Region this year and acquired 92 acres in Khopoli through a joint development agreement for a plotted and villa project. The project will be the first large-scale horizontal development in the area, with amenities including a golf course. More developers are venturing into this space. Tribeca Developers launched Tribeca Estates, a new business vertical focused on premium plotted developments and branded villas this week. The business will leverage the emotional pull of land ownership and will also offer buyers a chance to build their own homes. “Land is the most permanent asset a family can own, and yet, the plotted space has lacked imagination and trust,” said Kalpesh Mehta, founder of Tribeca.
