The recent sale of a Gurgaon penthouse for ₹271 crore has reignited the debate over the benefits of living in an apartment versus owning an independent house. Entrepreneur Manav Sardana bought the penthouse at DLF’s The Dahlias in Gurgaon for ₹271 crore, but the eye-watering price has left some questioning why someone would choose to spend such a massive amount on an apartment in the Delhi suburb.
“You can build a large home for 271 crores in NCR prime location with helipad and helicopter included,” entrepreneur Sandeep Mall pointed out, questioning the logic of investing ₹271 crore in an apartment.
“Don't understand 100 crore apartments”
Harshdeep Rapal, the US-based founder of Legitt AI, agreed with this take. Responding to Mall, he said that he would choose an independent house over an apartment.
“Same with me. I don't understand 100 Cr apartments,” he said.
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Rapal revealed that his first home in Delhi was an apartment, located on the fifth floor of a 12-storey building. However, after his daughter was born, he moved to an independent bungalow in New Friends Colony.
Rapal said that renting the 350 square yard bungalow in the posh neighbourhood cost him a bomb every month. However, it was worth it because his daughter got to run and play freely.
{{/usCountry}}Rapal said that renting the 350 square yard bungalow in the posh neighbourhood cost him a bomb every month. However, it was worth it because his daughter got to run and play freely.
{{/usCountry}}“I wanted my daughter to play in the lawn, dig mud and run around in rain. Not possible in an apartment,” he explained.
“Never an apartment”
Rapal said he received a rude shock when the owner of the New Friends Colony bungalow asked him to vacate the rental.
Since he did not want to move back to an apartment and did not have the money to buy an independent house, he “went mid-way”. He bought an independent builder-floor built in a 300 yard plot.
The founder of Legitt AI said that the next house he buys, whether it’s in India or the US, will be an independent house.
“Next house I buy - whether in India or the US - whether I have just enough money or 100s of millions of dollars - will be an independent house. Never an apartment,” he declared.
He ended his post by saying that apartments don’t make sense to him given the quality of construction in India. “Apartments don't make sense to me. Given the quality of construction in India, 50 years from now they will be crumbling. What do your children own - an imaginary box in air?” asked Rapal. “May be I am old school, but you need to own the land where your house is.”
The debate on flats vs houses
In the comments section, several people spoke about the benefits of owning an apartment over an independent house.
“Apartments make more sense for people who travel a lot and are out of the country most of the time. Much easier to manage,” X user Chetan Chawla said. “But yes, at that price range (100 cr +) would make more sense to have a Lutyen's location independent house,” he added.
“Gated societies have many acres of lawn space for your kids to play in, not sure how you concluded that kids can't enjoy if you live in an apartment,” another wrote.
Alok Jain, founder of WeekendInvesting, said: “You need to live in one such complex to understand how it is life changing.”
Reflecting on why people spend over ₹100 crore on buying an apartment, an account posted: “DLF has able to create a cult status around its Camellias project amongst who's who of Delhi NCR. Those UHNIs who have long been aspiring to buy in Lutyens Zone but couldn't close due to very few deals available, are now being given a option to buy in Camellias / Dahilias by projecting it as the next LBZ in NCR.”