How to calculate the real price per sq ft of an apartment

Price per sq ft is the number every builder quotes first, and it tells you less than you think. Two flats can both be listed at ₹8,000 per sq ft and cost you very different amounts, because the rate depends on which charges were counted and which area it was divided by. To compare projects properly you have to work out the rate yourself.

What you are trying to calculate

The figure you want is the effective price per sq ft: everything you must pay the builder for the flat, divided by the area you actually get to use. The quoted rate is usually something else. It is often a base price divided by super built-up area, with several charges added further down the cost sheet.

What goes into the total

Ask for the full cost sheet and add up every charge you cannot opt out of:

• the base price of the flat
• floor rise charges, if your floor attracts them
• amenity or clubhouse charges, which are almost never optional even though they are listed separately
• car parking, where a slot is compulsory
• infrastructure and development charges collected by the builder
• GST, if the flat is under construction: 5%, or 1% for affordable housing. A completed flat that has its completion certificate carries no GST.

The sum is your total acquisition cost. That is the number to divide.

What to leave out

Leave out stamp duty and registration when you compare projects. They go to the government and work out to roughly the same percentage for any flat in the same state, so they do not tell you which builder is cheaper. You still have to budget for them: about 6% in urban Telangana and about 7.5% in Karnataka for a flat above ₹45 lakh. Our guide to GST, stamp duty and registration charges has the details.

Leave out interiors, furniture and upgrades you chose, unless both flats you are comparing come finished to a similar specification.

Leave out loan interest too. That depends on your loan and says nothing about the flat.

Carpet, built-up and super built-up area

Carpet area is the usable floor inside your flat. RERA defines it as the net usable floor area including internal partition walls, and excluding external walls, service shafts, and your own balcony and open terrace.

Built-up area adds the thickness of the walls and the internal shafts.

Super built-up area adds your share of the common areas on top of that: corridors, lobbies, staircases, the clubhouse.

Most builders here still quote on super built-up area. A bigger area in the denominator makes the rate look lower. Two projects with the same quoted rate can have very different carpet areas for the money, so always convert to a carpet-area rate before you compare.

The calculation

1. Add all the mandatory charges to get the total you will pay the builder.
2. Take the carpet area from the agreement or the project's RERA disclosure, not from the brochure.
3. Divide the first by the second.

Do this for every project on your shortlist and the comparison becomes like for like.

Comparing across locations

A lower rate in a different area does not mean a better deal. Say a project in Tellapur works out to ₹7,500 per sq ft and one in Kondapur to ₹9,000. The Kondapur flat is not automatically overpriced. Check road access and metro connectivity, the distance to where you work, the schools, hospitals and shops that already exist, and how much new supply is coming up nearby. A higher rate in an established area can hold its value better than a cheaper one in an area that is still developing.

Comparing builders

The same rate from two builders can buy different things. Look at construction quality, the specifications written into the agreement, whether the builder has delivered earlier projects on time, and how those projects are maintained after handover.

Look at how the price is put together as well. A low base price with many add-ons often ends up costing more than a higher price with everything included. I would give more weight to a builder whose cost sheet is complete on the first ask.

Amenities cost money twice

A large clubhouse and several pools add to the purchase price and then to your monthly maintenance for as long as you own the flat. Ask yourself how much of it you will use. If the answer is "rarely", you are paying for someone else's swimming pool.

Warning signs

• The builder will not state the carpet area clearly.
• Charges are loosely described, or the agreement lets them be revised later.
• The sales team steers every comparison away from carpet area.
• A discount is offered but nobody will show you the price it is being taken off.

The lowest rate is not always the right one

A fair price reflects sound construction, a reasonable premium for the location, clear approvals, and maintenance you can afford over the years. A flat that is cheap because the quality is poor or an approval is missing usually costs more later. And a bigger flat is not better value if the layout wastes space; usable area matters more than the total.

If you would like someone to run these numbers on your shortlist, book a call with a relai advisor; it is free for buyers, because the builder pays relai a fee when you buy.