Q&A

Vinod Behl

I want to go for a residential property in Delhi-NCR (Gurgaon or Noida). Should I go for an under-construction property or a ready-to-occupy house?

The obvious advantage of buying an under-construction house is its price arbitrage i.e. lower prices compared to a ready-to-move house. Moreover, these days there is another significant advantage of buying an under-construction house. In view of a substantial rise in the number of new launches, one gets a wide choice in terms of location, price(affordable, premium or luxury), type of property  (flat, villa, or floor), configuration(studio apartment, 1BHK,2BHK,3BHK,4BHK or more). NCR has seen 134 percent YoY supply in Q2 2024. In contrast to the large inventory of under-construction properties available in the market,  the inventory of ready-to-move properties is limited, thereby restricting one’s choice.

However, lately housing prices, especially in the NCR, have seen a sharp uptick. So much so that in some cases prices of under-construction houses have gone higher than the of ready-to-move homes. One must watch this when looking for a residential property.

Though ready-to-move properties are costlier than under-construction properties, there is a big advantage that a buyer doesn’t have to face a development risk, unlike in the case of an under-construction property where due to construction delays, sometimes buyers have to face delivery defaults. Moreover, in a ready property, a buyer can see whether all the promised features and amenities are in place. Inshort, the buyers can satisfy themselves if they are getting what they are paying for. In under-construction properties, the final delivered product sometimes may not be the one shown /promised to you. Another advantage of buying a ready property is that there is no GST on it.

But then while making a final choice, one should carefully look into these factors and then take a discerning decision.