What is Carpet Area, Built-Up Area and Super Built-Up Area?

While buying a house, terms such as carpet area, built-up area and super built-up area mostly cause some confusion ?

 

While buying a house, terms such as carpet area, built-up area and super built-up area mostly evade our realm of understanding, or at least cause some confusion. In every residential complex, there are these three ways of calculating the area, or the square footage. They may not all sound very different, but there is in fact a big difference between carpet area and built-up area!

 

Not knowing what each actually means is what could give Developers a chance to take you for a ride. However, it is not rocket science. Just a little reading and you will be pretty thorough with the terms. Here are some of the basics of Real Estate you should know.

 

Carpet Area

 

Carpet area is the area that can actually be covered by a carpet, or the area of the apartment excluding the thickness of inner walls. Carpet area does not include the space covered by common areas such as lobby, lift, stairs, play area, etc. Carpet area is the actual area you get for use in a housing unit. So when you are in search of a house, look at the carpet area and then make your decision, because that is the number that will give you an idea of the actual space at your disposal.

 

Focusing on the carpet area will help you understand the usable area in the kitchen, bedroom, living room, etc. Nowadays, many builders do not even mention carpet area at first and usually charge on the basis of built-up area or super built-up area. Carpet area is usually around 70% of the built-up area.

 

Built-Up Area

 

Built-up area is the area that comes after adding carpet area and wall area. Now, the wall area does not mean the surface area, but the thickness of the inner walls of a unit. The area constituting the walls is around 20% of the built-up area and totally changes the perspective. The built-up area also consists of other areas mandated by the authorities, such as a dry balcony, flower beds, etc., that add up to 10% of the built-up area.

 

So when you think about it, the usable area is only 70% of the built-up area. So, if the built-up area says 1,400 sq ft, it means around 30% (420 sq ft) is not really usable, and the actual area you will get to use is only the remaining 980 sq ft.

 

Super Built-Up Area

 

Super built-up area is builder’s Best Friend! It is the area calculated by adding the built-up area and common area that includes the corridor, lift lobby, lift, etc. In some cases, builders even include amenities such as a pool, garden and clubhouse in the common area. Selling on the basis of the super built-up area not only gives a wrong sense of the area of the house, but also reduces the per square feet cost of the house. A developer/builder charges you on the basis of the super built-up area which is why it is also known as ‘saleable’ area.

 

Now let us consider this case – the rate is Rs 2,000 per sq ft and the super built-up area is 1,400 sq ft, then the base cost will come up to 28 lakhs.

 

When there is more than one apartment on a floor, the super built-up area is calculated in a different manner. Let us assume this is the case.

— The area of Apartment 1 is 1,000 sq ft

— The area of Apartment 2 is 2,000 sq ft

— The total common area is 1,500 sq ft, out of which the share of Apartment 1’s common area is 500 sq ft while the share of Apartment 2’s common area is 1,000 sq ft.

 

Then, the super built-up area of Apartment 1 is 1,500 sq ft and of Apartment 2 is 3,000 sq ft. The super built-up area, as seen in this example, is divided in the ratio of the apartments’ built-up areas (in this case 1:2).

 

Before RERA came into existence, most real estate developers used to sell apartments on the basis of super built-up area which consists the common area as well. Considering the fact that builders and developers used to price their apartments based on super built-up or ‘saleable’ area, being unaware of the fundamental difference between carpet area and built-up area and other terms leaves one running blind.

 

Often the actual usable area is much lower than the super built-up area. Some builders take into account the carpet area while charging you but this is only in the rarest of the rare cases. 90% of the developers calculate the base cost on the basis of the super built-up area; the more the amenities the higher the super built-up area.

 

Real estate can be complicated and you cannot change the rules and practices but you definitely can make an informed decision when you are aware of the various types of calculations for square footage, a seemingly major but actually simple job!

 

 

Ready to move Commercial and Residential Properties from BMRI

 

• Gokul Pride
• Gokul Grand IV
• Gokul Grand III
• Gokul Grand II
• Gokul Residency
• Gokul Galaxy
• Vardhaman Nagar

 

Located at 15 min walking distance from station. Situated near to market, hospital, school, temple. It provides the finest for an Ideal Home.

 

It is one of the most reputable address of the city with easy access to many famed schools, shopping areas, hospitals, recreational areas, public gardens and several other public amenities. The Project is at a very good proximity from school, market, banks & station. A location which allows to enjoy a chill breeze of beach on weekend by just driving for 15 minutes.

 

Located next to Virar, it has direct road access to the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway (NH-8). Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Bus stand are also easily accessible from here. In addition, beautiful beaches (Kelva, Mahim and Satpati), ancient forts (Kelva and Shirgaon) and Manor Dam in the vicinity of Palghar make the place an attractive tourist getaway. Maharashtra’s largest fishing center, Satpati is also at a driving distance from Palghar West.

 

Real estate in Palghar is slated for growth, mainly, because of the proposed bullet train which will connect two main cities Mumbai and Ahmedabad. This town lie to the north of Mumbai and are on the periphery of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Coming back to the bullet train, the first train is likely to run by 2024. The current travel time between the two cities is 7 hours; the bullet train will cut it down to only 2 hours. 11 railway stations are being proposed along the route; on the Maharashtra side of the border besides the Terminal at Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex, Thane, Virar and Dahanu are likely to be the other stations.

 

Palghar is placed on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway on the Mumbai Ahmedabad rail corridor. And is very easy for everyone to access the railway station. Last year, Palghar was given district status making it the Thirty Sixth district in Maharashtra.

 

About BM Group

 

BM Group (BM™) is a company established in early 90’s and is based in Mumbai, India. BM Group (BM™) serves for Property Development and Real Estate Consultancy of residential, commercial, warehouse, land, and retail leasing in different regions of Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Ahmedabad, and Rajkot.

 

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