Carpet, built-up & the loading factor
Convert an advertised super built-up area to carpet, work out the loading, and quote the rate per usable square foot. The fastest way to sound different from the last three agents.
Your numbers
| Advertised rate, per sq ft of super built-up | — |
| Super built-up area | — |
| Built-up area (approx.)Carpet plus walls and balcony — roughly 10–20% above carpet. | — |
| You pay for, but cannot stand on | — |
| How this loading compares | — |
Two flats advertised at 1,250 square feet, at the same price. One has 980 square feet of usable floor, the other 870. Nothing in either listing tells a buyer which is which.
The gap is loading — the share of common areas added on top of the carpet area. Historically 25–30% was normal; heavily amenitised towers push well past that.
Convert every property to a rate per square foot of carpet and rankings frequently reverse. Quoting carpet area unprompted is one of the fastest ways to sound different from the last three agents a buyer met.
The three numbers
Carpet area is the usable floor inside the walls. Under RERA it has a precise definition — net usable floor area excluding external walls, service shafts, exclusive balcony and open terrace, and including internal partition walls — and it must be disclosed for registered projects.
Built-up adds the walls and balcony, typically 10–20% above carpet. Super built-up adds your share of lobbies, stairs, lifts and amenities. That is the number in most advertisements.
Loading = (super built-up ÷ carpet − 1) × 100.
Worked example
Carpet 1,000 sq ft with 30% loading gives 1,300 sq ft super built-up. At ₹78 lakh, the advertised rate is ₹6,000 per sq ft — but the real rate on usable floor is ₹7,800 per sq ft.
Now compare a second flat advertised at ₹5,800 per sq ft with 42% loading. It looks cheaper and it is not: its carpet rate is roughly ₹8,240. On the numbers a buyer sees in a listing, the wrong flat wins.
The questions to ask
- What is the carpet area, in writing?
- What is the loading percentage?
- Is the balcony counted, and how?
- Is the quoted rate on carpet or super built-up?
A developer or agent who will not answer the first question in writing is telling you something.
Questions
Which area should a buyer compare on?
Carpet, always. It is the only figure describing space you can stand in, and RERA requires it for registered projects. Resale in older buildings often still trades on loose numbers, which is exactly why converting yourself matters.
Is a high loading always bad?
Not necessarily — it can reflect genuinely large lobbies, wide corridors and real amenities. It is bad when it is undisclosed, or when the buyer is comparing it against a low-loading project on the advertised rate.
Does the balcony count as carpet area?
Under the RERA definition an exclusive balcony or open terrace is excluded from carpet area, though it is usually charged for separately. Ask specifically how it has been treated in the quote.
The number convinces. The reel gets you the call.
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