TRIUMPHED!

Appaswamy Group's premium project Triumph in Chennai is targeted at upper middle segment

IT was launched 18 months ago at Rs 4,800 per sq ft, when the guideline value in the Vadapalani (Chennai) area was hovering around Rs 4,000. The 108-unit premium residential project from Appaswamy Group - Triumph - now has only eight units left for sale priced at Rs 5,000 per sq ft.

Located near Radha Park Inn, off Vadapalani, in a bustling area, the facade of the project is quite attractive, catching the eye of passers-by. The Rs 70-crore project on 26 grounds (1 ground = 2,400 sq ft) was primarily targeted at the upper middle segment.

It was not really a challenge to market the Triumph project as maximum number of customers purchased homes at the launch rate, says Appaswamy Real Estates marketing manager L Raja Rajan. Mostly referrals have got converted into sale transactions, he adds. The company had spent about 0.3% of the overall project cost towards marketing.

This project boasts of amenities such as piped gas, customised intercom and a ramp for the differently-abled. The ground plus nine floor project offers three-bedroom flats, each covering an area of 1,550 sq ft. A flat costs upwards of Rs 80 lakh. Incidentally, this is one of the few housing projects that comes with wi-fi connectivity.

A couple of interesting aspects of the project is that hardly any IT professional has purchased a flat and a majority of the customers has opted for own source funding and not the home loan route. "Mostly, customers have made upfront payments. We are now in the handing-over stage," Mr Rajan says, dwelling on the buyers' profile.

With doctors from leading hospitals constituting the bulk of customers, Triumph also has NRIs (from Europe and the US) and businessmen, he said, adding that all the flats are three-bedroom units with a spacious lift lobby separating the apartments. Each floor comes only with four flats.

Founded in the late fifties, the Appaswamy group of companies has grown as an entity with diversified interests such as property development, hotels and finance. The founder's son Ravi Appasamy entered the closely-held family business in the early eighties. Since then, the group has completed many large housing projects, crossing a total built-up area of 4 million sq ft as on date.

Courtesy:- ET dt:- 26-04-09