No Flash In Pan: DLF On Dahlias' Stunning Rs 12,000-Crore Sales In Nine Weeks

Demand for ultra luxury homes is alive and kicking in an otherwise sluggish urban market, if one was to go by DLF's Gurugram project, the Dahlias.

The project that achieved stunning sales in a short span, has another Rs 22,000 crore in revenue potential to unlock, according to a company executive.

In the third quarter of the current financial year, the company delivered new sales bookings of Rs 12,093 crore, thanks to Dahlias in DLF 5, Gurugram, which garnered Rs 11,816 crore of new bookings in the opening quarter.

"For us, the numbers are good, but if I were to speak for the industry, the numbers are very healthy. It's encouraging to see investments being driven to real estate," Aakash Ohri, chief business officer at DLF, told NDTV Profit.

"We have enough on the plate for Q4. Our Mumbai, Goa and other Gurgaon projects will reflect in Q4. Customers have shown strong trust," Ohri said.

Decoding Dahlias

The Dahlias saw a healthy mix of Indian entrepreneurs, businesses and top chief experience officers, as well as non-resident Indians flocking to buy the first lot of 173 apartments.

The full project comprises 420 homes and penthouses, with an average price of Rs 70 crore. It has revenue potential of over $4 billion, around 2.5 times that of the Camellias. "About 10–12% of bookings came from the NRIs," Ohri added.

He added that the pre-sales were an endorsement of the fact that ultra luxury products are here to stay. "The Dahlias sale is not just a flash in the pan. We have been building the market for such a product with the Aralias, Camellias, Magnolias in Gurugram... Our products have delivered emotionally, as well as financially."

"It took us nine years to cross Rs 11,000-crore sales in Camellias... Now, it took us only nine weeks to cross Rs 12,000 crore sales in Dahlias," he said. "We're now seeing generations wanting to stay in the DLF ecosystem. Strong word of mouth also led to sales. Dahlias is a hard-core substance product, there's no fluff."

While the average price is Rs 70 crore, apartments went in the range of Rs 55 crore to Rs 125 crore each. "Don't be daunted by the Rs 100-crore tag. Ultra luxury products in other segments often command similar money," he said, adding that the Rs 100-crore mark had been breached long back by Camellias.

Ohri added that as a real-estate market, Gurugram has "most things aligned" and is set up for growth going ahead. "The government here is working towards a robust infrastructure story. Bullet trains, expressways, road network being developed are examples of that.... Gurgaon customers are discerning and demanding," he said.

Ohri noted that there are reports of Gurugram price points being compared with Dubai's. "I'm not encouraged by comparisons, but Gurgaon deserves the attention, the government is working on pollution issues and roads here," he said.