Like the house? Rs 150 cr only

NEW DELHI: How much would you pay for a plot of land? How prime can a piece of real estate get? Well, the 3.5-acre spread at 5, Man Singh Road, which comes with a rambling colonial bungalow, is being negotiated for Rs 150 crore.

For those who didn’t quite get it, yes, the figure is Rs 150 crore. Say it slowly enough and it sort of registers.

Somewhat. If the mega deal goes through, it could well be the highest bid for a residential plot in the country.

Jaywant D Singh, a former investment banker who is handling the potentially record-busting transaction, said, “The property came into the market late last year. The entire deal will be in white.”

The property is owned by the Gujarat-based Pattani family, 12 members of which have a claim in the deal. The plot is registered in the names of Jaikant, Shashikant, Yashomati and Mahesh Pattani. The last two are dead but their successors have a claim.

Singh claims the house is worth between Rs 125 to 175 crore. The sale process goes something like this. There is a round of unlisted bidding. The best bids are selected and then another round of bidding is held.
So far, the highest amount reportedly paid for a house in Delhi has been Rs 75 crore for 4, Tees January Marg. The buyer remains shrouded in secrecy.

The fact is, in Delhi’s hyper real estate, nothing is out of reach as the rich pursue elite addresses they feel only money can buy. The prices range between Rs 10,000-20,000 per sq ft.

But it is not just the money value. It also about wanting to be in the company of people like Sunil Mittal, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and the Jindals. Which perhaps explains why plots in these areas — usually between one and 3.5 acres — attract a long list of buyers.

Said Santosh Kumar of Chesterton Meghraj, a real estate firm dealing in high-end properties, “Very few properties actually get sold in this segment. But when they do, they run into crores.”