Japanese Zen gardens, palace-themed lobbies, and sky-decks are replacing swimming pools and sports amenities when it comes to luxury value-additions in the residential projects. With rising income levels and changing lifestyles, today’s well-travelled homebuyers aspire for a home that gives them a resort-like experience.
“Increasing work pressure, coupled with the inconvenience of travelling, have led to the need for premium amenities in residential projects,” says Ashutosh Kumar, Lead, Home Buying Advisory Services, RoofandFloor.
He further explains, “After a tiring day at work, nobody wants to step out for recreational activities. Thus, more and more buyers are opting for projects where they can do what they enjoy in the most convenient way.”
Amenities are, undoubtedly, integral to any real estate project. While some amenities are essential, there are some that can be avoided. In this post, we tell you how to differentiate the essential amenities from the avoidable ones.
The basics
The amenities falling under this category are non-negotiable. These include:
Power backup
While 24-hour power backup is a norm these days, some builders offer power backup only for the common areas. Before finalising any project, do confirm this from the builder or else you will have to spend extra later.
Adequate parking space
Talking about the parking, builders usually offer covered or uncovered parking. The majority of builders provide one parking slot unless you are buying a 4BHK or above configuration. However, by paying extra, you can always buy an additional parking space.
Security provisions
We can’t emphasise this enough! Ensure that the developer has adequate security measures in place.
Open space
With decreasing lung space in the city, more and more developers these days offer larger green spaces. Interestingly, a few leading builders leave 70-80% of the project area for open green spaces.
The frills
The frills essentially include a list of amenities that you are not necessary but are good if included. These include:
Swimming pool
We no longer live in an era where a swimming pool within the apartment complex was considered a luxury. Today, several smaller developers also offer this feature. However, the size and features of the swimming pool vary from developer to developer.
Dedicated children’s play area
Considering the limited open space in the city, a dedicated play area for children is very important. Interestingly, in Bangalore and Chennai, it is one of the most popular amenities. This could be because these cities currently house many professionals within the age bracket 30-40 years. Most of these buyers have children. As a result, demand for play areas within the project is significantly high.
Gymnasium and clubhouse
Clubhouses these days come equipped with an array of indoor fitness amenities. In fact, a gymnasium and a swimming pool often form a part of the clubhouse in many projects.
City-wise preferences
One significant trend we have noticed is that property buyers in each city have their own preference as far as amenities are concerned.
- Our data indicate that in Bangalore, parks and gardens top the list of amenities in demand. More than 70% of the projects in the city lay emphasis on greenery.
- In MMR (Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Thane), healthcare facilities are most preferred. More than 55% of under-construction projects offer these amenities.
- Vaastu is popular in Chennai and Hyderabad. About 68% of the projects are Vaastu-compliant in both these cities.
Read More: Why Chennai Loves Vaastu and Bangaloreans Love Greenery
Do the size of the amenities matter?
From the locality to the developer to budget, prospective buyers usually have a long checklist before they finally take the plunge. However, one point that is often missed by buyers is the size of the amenities.
To stand out in the crowd, developers offer a plethora of amenities in a project. And buyers, often, get lured by those. However, in large-sized projects, the amenities provided are often not in proportion to the number of units.
Further, some large projects are built in phases. And for all the phases, the amenities are common. In an ideal scenario, for a project of 15-20 acres, it makes sense to have two swimming pools.
The cost factor
More the amenities, the higher the maintenance cost. Also, projects offering premium amenities cost more.
Moreover, for units facing the swimming pool or the garden area, builders often add an extra preferential location charge (PLC).
Therefore, it is important to select a project that offers basic amenities like parking facilities, power backup and, most importantly, safety and security. Opting for the premium amenities is recommended provided you are going to use those amenities.