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Should Residential Developers Build Rental Portfolios Instead of Selling Every Asset?
Ajmera Realty wants to build at least 2 million sq ft of rental assets in Mumbai over the next five to eight years.
The developer says its rental income is currently negligible, but its longer-term objective is to create rent-yielding assets that could potentially support a REIT structure.
That represents a different business model from conventional residential development.
Instead of:
build, sell and recycle capital
the rental model becomes:
build, lease and collect recurring income.
Ajmera still expects its portfolio to remain predominantly residential and is targeting ₹2,200 crore of FY27 pre-sales.
It also expects to invest more than ₹1,000 crore across existing and upcoming projects over the next three to four years.
The unanswered question is how much capital will eventually be committed specifically to retained rental assets.
A 2 million sq ft target alone does not establish future value.
Investors would eventually need occupancy, rents, tenant quality, NOI, debt and asset valuations before judging whether the portfolio is genuinely REIT-ready.
See Link -> Ajmera Realty looks to create two million sq ft of rental portfolio in Mumbai over next 5-8 years
For a residential developer, which model creates more long-term value: selling commercial assets and recycling the cash, or retaining them to build recurring rental income?