In a candid disclosure during Oberoi Realty’s Q2 FY26 earnings call on October 17, Chairman and Managing Director Vikas Oberoi explained the company’s deliberate strategy of controlling sales velocity to maximize pricing power and profitability amid RERA constraints.
Cyclical Sales Pattern in Focus
The discussion began when Gaurav Khandelwal from JPMorgan sought clarity on quarterly sales trends. He noted stronger sustenance sales from relatively older projects like Eternia and Enigma, while newer launches such as Jardin and Forestville saw a sequential decline.
Khandelwal asked whether this reflected an expected trend tied to the product life cycle—robust initial uptake followed by a slowdown, then a pickup as completion nears.
Leveraging Launch Curiosity and Construction Milestones
Vikas Oberoi confirmed the cyclical nature of project sales. “There’s huge curiosity around launch,” he said. “People pay a very small down payment, and they know that they will be making the rest of the payment gradually.”
However, once construction reaches 40-50% completion, buyers must make upfront payments matching progress—a shift that naturally cools demand. Oberoi Realty uses this phase transition strategically.
Strategic Sales Throttling Under RERA
Oberoi revealed that the company often slows or halts sales once sufficient units are booked to fully fund construction through RERA-escrowed customer advances.
“We have sold enough, and we have money lying in the project held by RERA,” he stated. “As a strategy, we actually end up slowing down sales… to ensure that I am not selling cheap, and I am not even getting the money in my hand.”
Since early sales lock cash in project-specific accounts without immediate deployability, the firm avoids diluting pricing during mid-construction lulls.
Price Hikes as Possession Nears
As projects near structural completion—typically with all slabs cast and possession 18 months away—Oberoi Realty implements price increases. “We increase the price… that also kind of starts pickling our price in the minds of people that this is what they will have to pay going forward,” Oberoi explained.
Even if volume slows at higher rates, the strategy cements elevated pricing while aligning sales momentum with end-user urgency.
Elysian Tower A: A Case Study in Inventory Holding
Oberoi highlighted Tower A of the Elysian project in Goregaon, where buildings are nearing completion. “We are sitting with money in the bank, there’s no point in selling,” he said. “Ready apartments within Goregaon are selling at a higher price than what we are booking at. So, I see literally a 20% return on my investment if I don’t sell.”
By retaining inventory, Oberoi Realty captures appreciation without triggering RERA cash inflows that cannot be redeployed.
Mastering RERA’s Constraints
Oberoi described the regulatory framework as creating a structural disincentive for early monetization. “This part of how RERA plays out is a disadvantage for us to sell early,” he noted, adding that leveraging project cyclicality remains “probably the best bet.”
