The four stages
A residential project passes through four commercially distinct phases. The names vary between developers, the substance does not.
Pre launch
Before formal launch, sometimes before registration is complete. Lowest price, highest uncertainty, and the stage where it matters most that the phase is actually registered before any money moves.
Launch
Registered, publicly on sale, construction at or near ground level. Best combination of entry price and choice of unit. Possession is typically three to five years away.
Under construction
Structure visibly rising, progress filings accumulating. You can see slabs, read the trend, and still have some choice of unit. Price is between the two ends.
Ready to move
Occupancy Certificate received. You can inspect the actual flat, the actual view and the actual finish. No construction risk, no wait, no GST, and the highest price.
The stages compared
| Launch | Under construction | Ready to move | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Lowest | Middle | Highest |
| Choice of unit, floor, facing | Widest | Reduced | Whatever is left |
| Delivery risk | Highest | Moderate and readable | None |
| What you can inspect | Plans and a show flat | Structure, progress filings | The actual flat |
| GST | Applies | Applies | Does not apply after OC |
| Payment | Spread over years | Spread, shorter | Largely up front |
| Wait before you move in | Longest | Shorter | None |
| Rent you keep paying | Most | Some | None |
A general comparison of how the stages differ. GST treatment depends on the facts of the specific transaction, so confirm it with your chartered accountant.
What buying early actually gains you
- Entry price. The clearest and most quantifiable benefit.
- Choice, which is underrated. The combinations buyers want are finite. Corner units, the preferred floor band, the facing that avoids the afternoon sun. These are gone long before the project is finished, and no amount of money buys them back later.
- Payment spread over the construction period, which suits a buyer funding from income rather than from a lump sum. How much it is spread depends on the plan, and a 50:50 plan behaves very differently from a construction linked one.
- Time to arrange funds between booking and the large tranches.
What it costs you
- Delivery risk. The declared date is a declaration, not a guarantee. RERA makes it accountable rather than certain.
- You are buying a drawing. The view from the tenth floor, the actual light in the second bedroom, the noise from the road at 8am. None of these can be verified at launch.
- Years of paying twice. Rent where you live now, plus interest on the disbursed portion of the loan. This is the cost buyers most often leave out of the comparison.
- GST applies, where it does not on a completed property.
- Your money is committed and illiquid. Exiting mid construction means a transfer, usually with developer consent and a fee.
Every risk above is reduced by the same habit: read the project's Quarterly Progress Reports, check the declared completion date on the registration, and confirm every phase you depend on is registered. The seven RERA checks take about half an hour and are the cheapest risk reduction available to you.
GST changes at one specific moment
GST applies to the sale of an under construction property, because it is treated as a supply of construction service. Once the Occupancy Certificate or completion certificate has been issued, a sale is treated as a transfer of immovable property, and that supply falls outside GST.
So the tax position flips at a single documented event, which is one more reason the Occupancy Certificate matters more than its paperwork suggests.
GST rates, input credit conditions and the treatment of affordable housing have all changed over time, and the position depends on the facts of your purchase. Treat this as the shape of the rule and get the number from your chartered accountant.
Want the construction status and progress filings for a project?
Current stage, the declared completion date and the latest quarterly filing are all askable. Tell us which project you are weighing.
The cost of waiting
Buyers compare two prices and forget the months between them. Those months have a price of their own, and it has two components:
- Rent. Whatever you pay for where you live now, every month until possession.
- Interest on the disbursed loan. You service the portion already released, on a home nobody lives in yet. Under a construction linked plan this grows with every tranche.
Work it out before you decide. Multiply your monthly rent by the number of months to the declared possession date, then add your expected interest outflow over the same period. Compare that total against the price difference between the under construction unit and a comparable ready one. Sometimes the early purchase is still clearly better. Sometimes the gap closes further than people expect.
Where these projects sit today
The five projects covered on this site sit at different stages, which is a useful illustration of the spread:
| Project | Published status | Declared possession |
|---|---|---|
| Panorama | Phase 1 open now, 2 phases, 539 plots | Phase 1 open now |
| Capitol Residences | Under construction | December 2027 |
| Folium | 4 phases, each RERA registered | March 2028 |
| Edition | Under construction | December 2029 |
| Solace | Under construction | December 2029, as per RERA |
Status and possession dates are as published by the developer and were accurate at the time of writing. Verify the current position and the registration for your specific phase with the project team and on the Karnataka RERA portal.
Roughly two years separates the earliest and latest declared possession here. On a comparable budget that is two years of rent and interest, which is exactly the arithmetic in the section above.
What to ask
- What stage is construction at right now, and what do the last three Quarterly Progress Reports show?
- What is the declared completion date on the registration, and has it been extended?
- Which units, floors and facings are actually available at the quoted entry price?
- What is the GST position for this purchase, in writing?
- What is the total I will pay in interest before possession, under this payment plan?
- What has the promoter delivered before, and did those projects complete on the declared date?
- If the amenities sit in a later phase, when is that phase due?
Question seven catches people. A tower delivered on time whose clubhouse arrives two years later is a half delivered purchase, and the phase registrations are where you find that out.
Is it better to buy under construction or ready to move?
Neither is better in the abstract. Under construction usually costs less per square foot, offers more choice of unit, and spreads payment, but carries delivery risk and a wait during which you are probably paying rent and loan interest. Ready to move removes those, costs more, and attracts no GST. Choose on whether your constraint is budget or certainty.
Is GST payable on a ready to move flat?
GST applies to the sale of an under construction property. Where the Occupancy Certificate or completion certificate has been issued before the sale, the transaction is treated as a sale of immovable property rather than a supply of construction service, so GST does not apply. Confirm the position for your specific transaction with your chartered accountant, as rates and conditions change.
What is the main risk of buying at launch?
That the project is delivered later than declared, or differently from what was shown. RERA reduces this by requiring a declared completion date, quarterly progress filings and registration of every phase, but it does not eliminate it. The mitigation is to read the filings rather than the brochure, and to check the promoter's record on previously delivered projects.
Do prices always rise from launch to possession?
Not automatically. The pattern is common because risk falls and the product becomes tangible, but prices respond to local supply, interest rates and demand. Treat an expected rise as a possibility rather than a plan, and do not buy at launch solely on an assumption about appreciation.
Can I choose my floor and facing at launch?
Usually yes, and that is one of the strongest arguments for buying early. Inventory in a large project is finite in the combinations people want: good facing, preferred floor band, corner units. Those tend to go first, so by the ready to move stage you are choosing from what is left.
What should I check before buying a mid construction flat?
The last two or three Quarterly Progress Reports, so you can see the trend rather than one snapshot. Also the declared completion date on the registration, whether it has been extended, and the construction stage on site against what the filing claims. Walking the site and comparing it with the filing is the single most informative hour you can spend.