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Carpet area of new flats in Mumbai 43% less than super built-up — biggest gap in country
Mumbai: Apartments in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) have the highest 'loading' factor — difference between super-built-up area and carpet area — among the top seven Indian cities.
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According to data collated by ANAROCK Research, MMR has a loading factor of 43%. As an example, a 1,000 sq ft flat will have a living area of under 600 sq ft.
"Earlier, super built-up areas were the norm for quoting and marketing, which often overstated the liveable space. While the conversation around square footage continues in the sales room across the table, the focus in advertising appears to have shifted from actual flat sizes, which was more prevalent in earlier years, to taglines such as 'spacious 2 BHK' in advertisements and on hoardings,'' said Prashant Thakur, Regional Director & Head - Research & Advisory, ANAROCK Group.
"RERA mandates that all mentions of size must be only based on carpet area. This is strictly mandated in Maharashtra, so marketing has had to adapt to steering the messaging around features and amenities instead. Buyers have become more conscious of shrinking liveable spaces and rising loading percentages," he added.
Amid the rising demand for state-of-the-art amenities within housing projects, the 'loading' factor has been on the rise across the top cities.
MMR continues to see the highest loading— difference between super-built-up area and carpet area— among the top 7 cities with 43% in Q1 2025. The region has seen the average loading percentage grow steadily over the years —from 33% in 2019 to 39% in 2022, and 43% in Q1 2025.
Bengaluru has seen the highest percentile jump in average loading over the last seven years, from 30% in 2019 to 41% in Q1 2025. In 2022, it was 35%. This dovetails with the increasingly higher saturation of modern amenities that developers now include to cater to the higher lifestyle ask in the IT hub.
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Chennai, on the other hand, has the least average loading rise in Q1 2025 with 36%, aligning with a city-specific demand profile where homebuyers prefer to pay more for usable space within their homes rather than for common areas.
In 2019, Chennai's average loading percentage was 30%, like Bengaluru. It gradually rose to 32% in 2022 and further to 36% in Q1 2025.
In NCR, average loading percentage rose from 31% in 2019 to 37% in 2022, and 41% in Q1 2025.
In Pune, it was 32% in 2019, rose to 36% in 2022, and stood at 40% in Q1 2025.
Hyderabad saw an average loading percentage increase from 30% in 2019 to 33% in 2022, and to 38% in Q1 2025.
Kolkata too saw its average loading factor increase from 30% in 2019 to 35% in 2022, and further to 39% in Q1 2025.
"While RERA now requires developers to mention the total carpet area provided to homebuyers, no law currently limits the loading factor in projects.
Q1 2025 readings show that 60% of total space within their apartment that homebuyers in the top seven cities pay for is livable space, the remaining 40% is common areas – elevators, lobbies, staircases, clubhouses, amenities, terraces, and so on. The average loading percentage was 31% back in 2019," said Thakur.
"Today, higher amenity loading has become the norm across most projects, partly because homebuyers are no longer satisfied with basic lifestyle amenities - they expect fitness centres, clubhouses, park-like gardens, and grand lobbies.
Collectively, these features may improve comfort, community livability, and also resale value; however, homebuyers effectively lose on actual usable space within their apartments, " he said.
Essential infrastructure in modern housing projects now typically includes more lifts with bigger passenger capacities, amplified utility areas, and fire escapes that meet regulatory safety protocols. In high-density urban developments, optimizing space for both private and shared use is crucial for a better living experience and long-term value, making some level of extra loading an inescapable fact of life.
"Respective state RERAs should ideally enforce provisions wherein each project clearly mentions how much buyers are paying for the total usable space within the apartment, and for the amenities," the ANAROCK report said.
