Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) is planning to employ brokers and a marketing cell to sell off over 1,700 houses under it that failed to find any takers, an official said. “There are 1,748 dwelling units developed by GDA in at least 5 housing schemes which went unsold. Few have shown interest in these 1, 2, 3 BHKs, mini Low Income Group (LIG) and LIG flats, which cost up to Rs 70 lakh per unit,” he said. With the new strategy, the aim is to realise over Rs 500 crore worth of the properties, he added.As part of the strategy, usually used by private developers, the GDA will involve professional real estate brokers to reach out to potential buyers. “They will be given liberty to add value to the property in terms of retrofitting as per the demand of home buyers, and upon registry of the properties, GDA will reimburse the cost of refurbishment. Brokers can also integrate smaller flats into one to customise the needs of buyers,” the official said. After the property is sold off, the brokers will be paid a remuneration to the tune of an additional 1% of the base price of the property. A dedicated marketing cell will also be set up from within the existing workforce of the GDA, whose job will be to entertain prospective customers and show them properties, the official added.The scheme will, however, not be effective on EWS flats, which are meant for the economically weaker section of society.In December last year, the UP govt came up with a similar scheme called Model Costing Guidelines to sell off unsold inventories. Under the scheme, the average price of properties decreased by about 25%. Under the said policy, a discount of up to 25% of the fixed or base price could be availed. Other features include discounts of 6%, 5%, and 4% if a one-time payment is made within 45 days, 60 days, and 90 days, respectively.
