Premiumization of Mahindra SUVs holds a mirror to luxury housing: Amit Kumar Sinha, MD, Mahindra Lifespaces

Mahindra Lifespaces plans to rebrand itself to a premium housing company and expand further into Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru real estate markets.

“We now have premium projects and will rebrand ourselves accordingly,” said Amit Kumar Sinha, Managing Director and CEO of Mahindra Lifespaces.

Alluding to Mahindra's SUV cars, Sinha said that these come with fully loaded features. Similarly, Mahindra's homes come with premium amenities and target the high- end customer. “Hence, we want to create some differentiation in the real estate market,” he added.

"We may or may not have a new logo. Currently, there is no logo as such that we use. We write the company’s name as Mahindra Lifespaces for brand representation purposes everywhere. So, whatever we do, we have to do with the font," said Sinha.

"If you look at Mahindra's XUV700, it is a premium car which makes you feel that you got a sweet deal. If you were to buy a GLE or X5 or some car with equivalent features and a powerful engine, it will cost you three times more. We want to give the same feel when it comes to homes. Our projects should have the best space index, greenery, amenities, right price point and social infrastructure," said Sinha.

Mahindra Lifespaces to focus on expanding further into Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru

Mahindra Lifespaces plans to target ₹45,000 crore in revenue potential in the next five years. To achieve this, it is planning to focus on its business in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru. The company has a strategy in place to achieve pre-sales between ₹8,000 and ₹10,000 crore by FY28.

The company plans to focus on premium, mid segment projects and complete all its affordable housing projects under the brand name of Mahindra Happinest in areas like Palghar near Mumbai and in Pune over the next four years.

"We will complete all phases of our affordable projects in the next four years. We are going to be careful about our geographic footprint. We were in multiple cities earlier, but now we will be consolidating into just three cities - Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and go deep into these three cities," said Sinha.

He said that the company intends completing its project in Delhi-NCR. The company will also be evaluating its re- entry into Delhi NCR perhaps after two years. “I am very clear, we will not be in the business of going to 10 cities in 10 years,” Sinha further added.

Also read: Mahindra Lifespaces closes two deals with a revenue potential of ₹2,050 crore in Bengaluru and Mumbai

Will there be a price correction in the Mumbai real estate market due to increase in supply?

After COVID-19, much of the housing demand emanated from those wanting to upgrade their homes or buy new homes. Demand for premium and mid segment homes is healthy right now, he said.

"The real estate window typically is for five to seven years. My sense is that prices of luxury homes and other segments may correct. But we need to understand that the Mumbai real estate market will grow. Pune and Bengaluru may follow a similar trajectory because the inventory is low. However, the Delhi NCR real estate market may witness price correction," said Sinha.

Also Read: Mahindra Lifespaces green home contest. Here are all the details

Plans for Jaipur and Chennai

While the company plans to focus on its ongoing affordable housing projects and launch premium mid-segment projects going further, Sinha said they will continue to expand into Jaipur and Chennai where they have significant land banks.

"Jaipur and Chennai have our World City projects. We may decide to monetize these projects. Plotted developments or villa projects will make sense here rather than multi-storeyed developments," Sinha said.

The company has a presence in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana. “Of these states, Rajasthan is a slightly different market. It is not as competitive or technical. The price points are also low,” said Sinha.

The company has executed industrial projects in Rajasthan and has a land bank of close to 3,000 acres. Of this 1,500 acres is reserved for SEZ.

Also read: Why are real estate developers making a beeline for Mumbai and Bengaluru markets?

Plans for built-to-suit (BTS) warehouses

The company is evaluating a BTS joint venture with Actis Private Equity. Currently, the company has industrial businesses in five locations - two in Chennai, one in Jaipur, one in Bhor (Pune) and one in Ahmedabad.

“Of these five locations, two are world cities which have residential and commercial industries. For the BTS warehouse venture, we will invest capital along with our partner. We have committed roughly ₹200 crore for the BTS warehouse for the next three years.” he said.

"I think the initial plan is to have a BTS warehouse spread across 3 to 4 million sq ft over a period of around three years. Our capital commitment is around ₹182 crore," Sinha added.