Compare two properties honestly
Put two properties on the same basis — carpet rate, all-in cost and cost per usable square foot — and see which is actually better value.
Your numbers
| A — headline rate on carpet | — |
| B — headline rate on carpet | — |
| A — all-in over the holding periodPrice + duties + work + maintenance for the years held. | — |
| B — all-in over the holding period | — |
| Difference over the period | — |
| Extra usable space in B | — |
Buyers compare the two numbers a listing gives them: the price and the advertised area. Both are on inconsistent bases, so the comparison is close to meaningless.
This puts two properties on one basis — carpet rate, all-in cost including duties and the work each needs — and shows the difference in plain rupees.
It is also the single most persuasive thing you can put in front of a buyer stuck between two options, because it turns a preference argument into an arithmetic one.
Why the headline rate misleads
Two costs never appear in a listing and both are large: the duties and fees, which scale with price, and the work the flat needs before anyone can live in it, which does not scale with anything.
A flat that is ₹8 lakh cheaper but needs ₹5 lakh of work and carries higher maintenance for a decade is frequently the more expensive one.
Worked example
A: ₹78 lakh, 1,000 sq ft carpet, ₹2 lakh of work, ₹3,200 maintenance. B: ₹86 lakh, 1,180 sq ft carpet, ₹7 lakh of work, ₹4,800 maintenance. Held ten years, 7% duties.
A's all-in is roughly ₹90.9 lakh — about ₹9,090 per sq ft of carpet. B's is roughly ₹99.8 lakh — about ₹8,460 per sq ft. B costs ₹9 lakh more and delivers 180 more usable square feet, which makes it the better value per usable foot despite the higher price.
Whether the buyer wants to spend ₹9 lakh more is a separate question, and a fair one. But now it is being answered knowingly.
Use it in the room
Fill it in with the buyer rather than for them. Watching the ranking flip on the screen does more than any explanation, and it makes the agent the person who brought clarity rather than the person selling the more expensive option.
Questions
Should maintenance really be in a purchase comparison?
Over a ten-year hold it is a serious number — a ₹1,600 monthly difference is nearly ₹2 lakh across the period, and society maintenance tends to rise rather than fall.
What if I only have super built-up areas?
Convert both to carpet first using the loading calculator. Comparing a carpet figure against a super built-up figure produces a confidently wrong answer.
Does this decide which to buy?
No. It settles the value question. Location, floor, light, the society and how the flat actually lives are not on this page and often matter more.
The number convinces. The reel gets you the call.
Buyers who run these numbers are ready to talk. PropVid turns a listing into a reel in under two minutes — 700+ templates, AI scripts, voiceover, and your logo and phone on every export.
Try PropVid free