The independent floors launched from October 2020 in different phases at DLF City, Gurugram started with Rs 11,000 per square feet in October and have gone up to Rs 15,000 per square feet in subsequent launches to date, he said.

Real estate developers have launched 4,500 independent floors during the January-September 2021 period in Gurugram and Faridabad, about 40 per cent of the new housing supply in these two cities, to meet rise in demand of such properties during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to property consultant Anarock.

Over 20,000 independent floor flats are expected to be launched in both the cities in the next one year, it estimated.

“Approximately, 10,970 units across different property types have been launched in Gurugram and Faridabad between January to September 2021, of which 4,500 units are independent floor units,” said Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman, Anarock.

Between 2006 and 2010, nearly 21,300 independent floor units were launched in these two cities. However, supply dropped to about 10,000 units between 2011-2015 and just 2,990 units during 2016-2020.

Kumar attributed increase in supply to the changing buyer preferences due to the pandemic and the Haryana government’s Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna scheme, under which developers can build independent flats up to four floors and sell them individually.

“Many developers with land banks in these cities are now lining up for licenses to construct independent floor homes,” he added.

“…today, branded players like DLF Ltd, M3M, Trehan, Signature Global, BPTP and Raheja are in the fray,” the consultant said.

The development turnaround time for independent flats is faster than high-rises, and money generated from builder floors starts flowing within one year, Anarock said, while highlighting the reason for growth in this particular category.