This question comes up in almost every consultation. The answer depends on your holding period and your cash flow — but the arithmetic is the same for everybody, so let us do it properly.
The setup
Take a 900 sq.ft. 2 BHK in the same Navi Mumbai node.
- Ready option: ₹ 1.68 Cr, occupancy certificate received, available immediately.
- Under-construction option: ₹ 1.42 Cr, possession in 36 months, construction-linked payments.
Headline gap: ₹ 26 lakh, or 15.5%, in favour of under construction.
Adjusting for tax
| Ready | Under construction | |
|---|---|---|
| Agreement value | ₹ 1,68,00,000 | ₹ 1,42,00,000 |
| GST | Nil | ₹ 7,10,000 |
| Stamp duty (6%) | ₹ 10,08,000 | ₹ 8,52,000 |
| Registration | ₹ 30,000 | ₹ 30,000 |
| Adjusted cost | ₹ 1,78,38,000 | ₹ 1,57,92,000 |
The gap narrows to ₹ 20.46 lakh once GST is in.
Adjusting for rent
The ready flat leases from month one at ₹ 38,000. Over 36 months, assuming 6% annual escalation and one month vacancy per year, that is roughly ₹ 12.4 lakh of net rental income the under-construction buyer forgoes.
Gap now: ₹ 8.06 lakh, or 4.5% of the ready flat's cost.
What is left to weigh
That remaining ₹ 8 lakh is compensation for:
- Construction risk. MahaRERA-registered projects have averaged nine months of delay against their original committed date over the last five years.
- Inspection risk. You are buying a sample flat and a brochure, not the unit itself.
- Opportunity cost of staged payments — though this cuts the other way, since a construction-linked plan deploys your capital gradually.
The decision rule we use
Buy ready if your horizon is under four years, you need rental income from day one, or you are risk-averse about delivery.
Buy under construction if your horizon is five years or more, you want to preserve liquidity through a staged plan, and the developer has a clean on-time record.
Never buy under construction from a developer whose last three projects ran more than 18 months late, at any discount. We check this on every project before it reaches your shortlist.
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