Project & Payment
What is a New Launch Project?
The best price you will ever get on a flat, and the longest you will ever wait for it. Both facts are the same fact.
The short answer
A new launch is a project that has just opened for sale, with RERA registration in place. You get the lowest price the project will ever offer and the widest choice of units — floor, view, orientation, all still available.
In exchange, possession is three to five years away, and you are buying almost entirely on trust in the builder. Which is why the builder is the only thing you should really be evaluating.
What a new launch is
A project that has secured its RERA registration and its commencement certificate, and has just opened for public sale. Construction may have barely begun, or not begun at all.
This is legitimate, it is regulated, and it is how most Indian apartments are sold. It is not to be confused with a pre-launch, which usually isn't legal at all.
A new launch has a RERA number. You can look it up. It is legal.
A pre-launch typically has no RERA registration — and a builder who markets or takes money for an unregistered project is breaking the law before you have even signed anything.
If someone offers you a 'pre-launch price' and cannot show you a RERA number, walk away. The discount is not compensation for the risk.
Why the price is lowest at launch
Not generosity. Cash flow.
A developer needs early sales to demonstrate demand to lenders, to fund construction, and to build momentum. Early buyers are being paid — in discount — to take on risk the developer would otherwise carry alone.
That is a fair trade, provided you understand which risk you're being paid to take.
What you're taking on
- The longest possession wait. Three to five years, and that's if it's on time.
- Nothing to inspect. No building, no sample flat sometimes, no neighbours to ask.
- Maximum delay exposure. The further out the possession date, the more can go wrong.
- Rent and EMI, simultaneously, for years — if you're currently renting.
- 5% GST, and no tax deduction until possession.
Judge the builder, not the brochure
At a new launch there is nothing else to judge. The building doesn't exist. The render is a drawing. The sample flat was built to sell.
The only real evidence available to you is the builder's history — and that history is public, free, and almost never checked.
Go to your state RERA portal. Search by promoter name, not by project.
You will see every project that builder has registered. Look at the ones from four and five years ago. Did they deliver? On time? Are there complaints?
A developer who delivered three projects on schedule is telling you something a brochure never can. So is one who has four delayed projects and a fifth now being launched to you.
The new launch checklist
- RERA number. On the advertising, by law. Look it up. If there isn't one, stop.
- Search the promoter's other projects on the RERA portal. Delivered? Late? Complaints?
- Read the declared possession date in the filing — not the one the sales team says.
- Check the carpet area schedule in the filing against the brochure. The gap is your loading factor.
- Check the approved plan. Is another tower going up in front of your "unobstructed view"?
- Check the payment plan. A construction-linked plan keeps your leverage. A down-payment plan hands it away.
- Get the agreement reviewed by a lawyer before you pay more than the booking amount. It costs a few thousand rupees and it is the best money you will spend.
Frequently asked questions
Is a new launch cheaper?
Yes — it's typically the lowest price a project will ever offer. Developers discount early sales to prove demand to lenders and fund construction. You are being paid, in discount, to take on risk the developer would otherwise carry alone.
What is the difference between new launch and pre-launch?
A new launch has RERA registration — you can look it up, and it's legal. A pre-launch typically has no RERA registration, and a builder marketing or accepting money for an unregistered project is breaking the law. If there's no RERA number, walk away.
How risky is buying in a new launch?
The main risk is delay, and it's at its maximum here because possession is furthest away. There is also nothing to physically inspect. Your only real evidence is the builder's track record — which is public and free on the RERA portal, and almost nobody checks it.
How do I check a builder's track record?
Search the state RERA portal by promoter name rather than by project. It shows every project that builder has registered, including the delayed ones they aren't mentioning. Look at what they launched four and five years ago and ask whether it was delivered, and when.