HYDERABAD: In response to slow sales, various developers in Hyderabad are offering luxurious gifts to entice potential homebuyers. Options include premium motorcycles, 24-carat gold coins, electric vehicles, and complimentary interior upgrades.
For example, one prominent developer is providing a Harley Davidson worth ₹3 lakh with bookings in selective high-demand areas such as Kokapet, Kukatpally, Uppal, Patancheru, and Rajendranagar. Another developer plans to offer electric vehicles valued at ₹8 lakh to clients of an upcoming residential project located between Uppal and Ramanthapur.
Gold has also emerged as a favored incentive, despite its rising prices. A builder from Miyapur is promising gold worth ₹3 lakh with each ready-to-move-in apartment, specifically for 2BHK or 3BHK units priced between ₹75 lakh and ₹85 lakh. This offer includes free interior design for a children’s bedroom and a modern modular kitchen.
The trend extends beyond residential projects within the city limits. Developers promoting open plots in Mahabubnagar are utilizing similar strategies, with one offering a 10-gram gold coin for each buyer.
Currently, the price of gold is approximately ₹17,000 per gram.
Industry experts see these promotional strategies as efforts to boost sales during a slowdown in the property market. “When the market experiences a downturn, developers often introduce special deals to sell off unsold inventories. Typically, the cost of these incentives is included in the project pricing, although buyers might be unaware of this,” explained Ch Ramchandra Reddy, joint secretary of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (Credai-National).
Real estate professionals argue that attracting customers with lavish gifts is neither a healthy nor sustainable practice. “Attracting buyers with freebies isn’t a long-term strategy. If a buyer genuinely wants to purchase a home, their decision will rely on location, construction quality, and pricing — not on gift offerings. Such tactics serve mainly to boost short-term sales and reduce unsold inventory, generating only fleeting interest,” commented N Praveen, president of the Telangana State Realtors Association.
Furthermore, some realtors have noted that these promotional offers are typically outside the regulatory scope of the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG-RERA), which diminishes consumer protection. “These schemes are essentially commercial tactics to attract buyers, and we cannot monitor them,” confirmed a TG-RERA official. “However, if a developer fails to deliver on promises made in the sale deed, including these gifts, buyers have the right to lodge complaints, and necessary actions can be taken against those developers.”
