"Farm villas versus the Apartment life"....This has been one of the most debated subjects when it comes to the choice of living, be it a rented property or one that is purchased. This ofcourse is considering the key factors of supply, parity in price and accessibility wherein a buyer or a tenant can choose either and tends to mostly choose living in an apartment over living in a farm. While the benefits of living in an apartment cannot be discounted from issues such as security to maintenance, power back up, homogeneous tenants (in choices of lifestyle) to community living the fact is that it takes away the joy of living in an open space. If these benefits can be leveraged into the farmhouse living then it is physically, psychologically & socially healthier, gives the opportunity to do more things together as a family, with friends and within a community and more than anything else land as an asset class can only appreciate unlike an apartment where appreciation is completely driven by supply and the possibility of vertical growth in the same area.
The answer to the facilities and amenities that one tends to expect or rather take for granted in an apartment complex can be addressed in a gated farm villa community if the project is planned well, backed by a visionary development team and if the human factors (social, physiological and aspirational needs) are met through the engagement of the key stakeholders from the inception of the project.
I am going to restrict myself to addressing this debate to the geography of Delhi in India (no longer the NCR but right at the heart of it) as this has become the current hot spot of investment in land projects especially for farm houses giving way to the possibility of branded luxury and premium gated villa farm communities.
Private Farm Villa in the heart of the luxury belt of South Delhi
Since the new Delhi Master Plan 2021 was notified the opportunity of owning a farm and that within a gated community has become a practical proposition (increased FAR allows 13,068 sq ft of built up space above the ground per acre & the basement is free of FAR) and that in the near future. As a Chief Project Guide (and one responsible for its marketing & positioning) I've had the opportunity of being associated with 2 visionary developers in the farm (or green) belt of the developed zones which spread from the Southern most part of the state of Delhi (adjoining the MG road side of Gurgaon in Haryana) to South West Delhi (bordering the new developments along the Dwarka expressway). In the advent of healthy client activism it is important to address the legal issues as importantly as the issues related to design, luxury living, environmental concerns, sustainable living and community living especially in the context of sharing resources. The one issue that has rarely been addressed is that of how one can create the ambiance and the framework for this community living which has undertones of respecting each other space, privacy and needs. In both these projects we've addressed them through a continued interaction between the design & development team and focus groups (comprising of HNI's) who have been living in farms and in luxury gated communities across the world.
(Reference: Project NITAI by Samsaara Developers, Master Planning & lead Architect: Lotus Designs)
The quality of life within a set quantum of resources & amenities (air, water, sewage/waste disposal, walk ways, common facilities like club, security, concierge, swimming pools, parking etc) is far superior in gated farm villas than in apartments as it is shared by lesser number of people and the possibility of conflict or mishaps reduces considerably. With apartment prices going beyond the INR 15 to 25,000 (USD 250 to 400) per sq ft benchmark in luxury condominiums (sky rises with limited common facilities and access to same resources & amenities) a farm villa is not only a far more sensible proposition to invest in but the land that comes with it appreciates faster. Besides this one gets to possess a 'Capital' address, priority in resource allocation, luxury residence with greenery & openness yet privacy, live in a lesser congested neighborhood with like minded people, and in areas that are strategically located with respect to the NCR and linked by multiple access roads through mainstream expressways, national highways and broad arterial roads.
(Reference: Project ARAHAM by BRISK, Lead Architect: DFI)
How do you chose the right kind of farm to live or invest in?- I'd go with 5 key factors:
a) The community DNA planned by the developer including the ethos, value system and contextual definition of luxury.
b) The amenities & facilities being built into making this community engage with each other.
c) The qualification of the design & development team including the architect, landscaping team, the environmental engineering team, the construction entity & project managers and those who are the related stakeholders.
d) The character, nature and specification of your property (land, villa and amenities specific to the property)
e) and yes Location (and how its accessed, located with respect to markets, distance from key landmarks and its significance)
While one tends to generalize the above to even choosing apartments and most often developers even try to fit their projects into the above key factors (which you have to live with) the truth is projects have to adhere to the above for a truly luxurious, sustainable and community based living and not vice versa merely for justification.
(Reference: Project NITAI by Samsaara Developers)
While this mindset may take time, to shift from an apartment to a gated farm villa, the time to make the change is now because of the limited options available (locality being the key factor), the entry price structure and the support given by the civic agencies to the initial projects that are being launched. Someone told me 'its a no brainer' between these two choices considering that besides all the benefits an apartment is never expandable whereas villas have land and space to add further rooms as the family grows but the fact is that the apartment culture has been established & entrenched in the mindset of people across the last 10 to 15 years within most of the cities in India and this can only be overcome by one on one client engagements with stakeholders and the initiative taken by clients to explore the potential and considerably large number of benefits in living in a farm house villa. With the monetization and development of farm land in the green belt and existing farm belts of Delhi this will catch up but unlike apartments this is going to be limited in number and definitely worth the investment as well as living.
Author: I.Joseph Sam
Designation: Business Director, Tasteful Living
Email: jsam@tastefulliving.in
(Next in series: "Evaluating properties for their luxury quotient"
