Times of India - February, 2005

Pune builders are sure to find special favor with HDFC. Deepak Parekh, Chairman of the housing finance company, had announced on Monday that HDFC would offer lower interest rates to builders who mention the carpet areas upfront and to those who provide a warranty on the quality of their constructions.

Unlike Mumbai, where flats are sold at lumpsum rates, Pune builders charge a fixed percentage on carpet area. In fact, Pune-based Gera Developments also offers a 5-year warranty to its customers, the first in the country to do so.

“This was a change long overdue and everyone should adopt it, because carpet area is the simplest and fair manner to evaluate what the buyer is getting,” says Kumar Gera, MD of Gera Developments and president of the Confederation of real estate developers association of India.

He said his company was ready to move to selling on carpet area basis the day the Promoters and builders association of Pune (PBAP) changes its norms, as there should be uniformity in what all builders in the city are offering.

PBAP, which accounts for nearly 85% of construction in the city, has already standardized the norms of saleable area and made it mandatory to all its 180-odd members.

These norms have been in force since April 1, 2003. In fact, this is in accordance with the Ownership Flats Act 1963, which requires developers to declare carpet area.

A host of developers in Pune are in favor of this initiative.