Nearly 100 deals involving 2,707 acres closed last year: Anarock

At least 97 land deals involving over 2,707 acres were closed last year as real estate developers continued to expand their businesses, as per a report.

There were at least 82 land deals for about 2,508 acres in 2022.

Real estate consultant Anarock released its report on Thursday, suggesting that the land acquisition spree of financially strong developers and entities continued last year.

Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said, "In terms of transaction size, Ahmedabad was the front-runner with the biggest land transaction in 2023. Land prices in the city are comparably still among the most affordable." With rising commercial and residential demand since the pandemic, Puri said developers and entities are making a beeline to Ahmedabad to close land deals here.

In terms of the total number of deals, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) clocked the highest with 25 -- however, these were for small land parcels covering about 289 acres. Delhi-NCR was second with 22 land deals closed in 2023.

As per the report, at least 72 per cent of the total land area closed in 2023 is slated to be used for residential development.

Of 97 land deals closed in 2023, about 74 deals for over 1,945+ acres are proposed for residential development across tier 1, 2 and 3 cities.

Over 564.75 acres in six separate deals are earmarked for industrial & logistic parks and manufacturing.

Seven deals for over 126 acres are for mixed-use developments, while five deals for over 27.5 acres are for commercial and IT Parks.

About 43.35 acres in five separate deals are earmarked for other asset classes, including retail, hospitality, and some are undecided.

Anarock data showed that Ahmedabad saw the highest land area transacted with 739 acres in three separate deals. The city accounted for over 27 per cent of the total land transacted in 2023.

All three deals are for large township projects.

Bengaluru sealed 11 separate deals accounting for a 16 per cent share of the total land area transacted last year, with over 424 acres changing hands. Ten land deals were for residential development, and one for manufacturing.

The MMR saw the highest number of deals (25) for about 289 acres, earmarked largely for residential (20), two deals for mixed-use developments, and one deal each for an IT Park, hotel, and retail developments.

Delhi-NCR witnessed 22 separate land deals for 190+ acres, including 16 deals for 138 acres in Gurugram, three deals for 19+ acres in Noida, and one deal each in Delhi, Faridabad, and Greater Noida.

The proposed developments in NCR include residential, retail, mixed-use, commercial, and plotted development.

Hyderabad saw nine separate deals for 69.5 acres earmarked for residential development.

In Pune, six separate deals for 49 acres were struck, proposed for residential and mixed-use developments.

Chennai saw seven deals for 198+ acres proposed for a township project, IT Park, and residential development. Kolkata saw three land deals for 24.88 acres closed.

Tier- 2 & 3 cities, including Ludhiana, Nagpur, Mysuru, Sanand, and Dahej in Gujarat, among others, saw at least 10 land deals closed for 646+ acres closed last year.