Market
Reading a quoted property rate: what the number leaves out
7 min read · Last verified
In short
A quoted rate per square foot is not comparable between projects until you know which area basis it uses, what the cost sheet adds on top, and whether the statutory levies are included. Normalising to all-in cost per square foot of RERA carpet area is the only comparison that holds.
Key facts
- The comparable number
- All-in cost divided by RERA carpet area
- Most common distortion
- Rates quoted on super built-up area
- Usually excluded from a quote
- Cost-sheet charges, stamp duty, registration, GST
- Why portal averages mislead
- Computed from unverified listings, mixed area bases
- What we publish
- Verified asking prices per project, no averages or forecasts
Every conversation about Navi Mumbai property eventually produces a number: a rate per square foot for a node, quoted with confidence. Those numbers are almost always uncomparable with each other and frequently uncomparable with themselves.
This explains why, and gives you a method that works on any project you are shown.
Problem one: which square foot?
A rate is a price divided by an area, and the area can be carpet, built-up or super built-up. The same flat at the same price produces very different rates depending on which you divide by.
RERA requires sales on carpet area, but rates continue to circulate on other bases in conversation and marketing. A project quoting on super built-up area will always look cheaper per square foot than an identical one quoting on carpet.
- Always establish which area basis a quoted rate uses.
- Convert everything to RERA carpet area before comparing.
- Loading differs between projects, so the conversion is not a constant.
Problem two: the rate is not the cost
A quoted rate covers the flat. It does not cover parking, floor rise, club charges, infrastructure charges, deposits, society formation, stamp duty, registration or GST.
Those additions are substantial and they vary between developers. Two projects at the same headline rate can differ meaningfully in all-in cost, and the cheaper headline is not reliably the cheaper purchase.
Problem three: averages built from unverified data
Published node averages are usually computed from portal listings. Those listings are supplied by many parties, are not consistently verified, mix area bases, include stale and duplicated entries, and represent asking prices rather than transactions.
An average across that is a number with a decimal point and very little behind it. It is worth knowing what a figure was computed from before treating it as market data.
The method that works
Normalising takes a few minutes per project and makes comparison real.
- Get the complete written cost sheet, with every line named.
- Add stamp duty, registration and GST where applicable.
- That total is your all-in cost.
- Get the RERA carpet area for the specific unit — not the typical unit.
- Divide. That figure is comparable across projects.
- Repeat for each shortlisted project and compare the results, not the headline rates.
What we publish, and what we do not
We publish the asking price for each project we list, confirmed with the developer, and the carpet area range where the developer has confirmed it. Where a figure is unverified we show it as unavailable rather than estimating it.
We do not publish node averages, price indices, historical trends or forecasts. We hold current asking prices and no historical series, so any of those would be manufactured. Our per-locality price pages report what the projects we list are actually asking today, which is a narrower claim and a true one.
Questions worth asking about any rate you are quoted
These five questions resolve most of the ambiguity in about a minute.
- Is that on carpet area or super built-up?
- What is the loading percentage?
- What does the cost sheet add on top?
- Does that include stamp duty, registration and GST?
- Is that the rate for this specific unit, or the project's starting rate?