When purchasing an apartment, especially in the luxury and premium segments, homebuyers in Mumbai are now paying more for expanding amenities, even as the livable private space shrinks. The financial capital tops the list in terms of the share of common areas in high-rises.
The average loading factor for residential buildings delivered in 2025 is 43%. This means that for a home advertised as 1,000 sq ft, only 570 sq ft is the actual usable (carpet) area, while the remaining 430 sq ft is allocated to shared spaces, a report has said.
According to the Anarock report, MMR continues to see the highest loading among the top 7 cities, with 43% in Q1 2025. The region has seen the average loading percentage grow steadily over the years, from 33% in 2019 to 39% in 2022 and 43% in Q1 2025.
Most luxury and premium real estate projects often boast of expansive clubhouses with restaurants, lounges, reception areas, and other high-end amenities that enhance lifestyle appeal. However, these features also come with a hidden cost, a higher loading factor, which ultimately inflates the total price paid by homebuyers, say real estate experts.
Real estate experts say developers are increasingly adding common amenities like gyms, pools, lounges, and enhanced fire-safety features to cater to rising buyer expectations. While these additions improve comfort and resale value, they also reduce the actual usable area within individual apartments.
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As a result, buyers are now paying substantially more for shared spaces in modern residential projects. While the focus on lifestyle upgrades is growing, experts stress the importance of transparent disclosures to ensure buyers clearly understand how much private living space they’re actually getting.
According to a Bloomberg report, in space-constrained cities like Mumbai, developers are increasingly designing projects with smaller individual units but larger shared spaces such as pools, lawns, and gyms. These communal amenities appeal to buyers and renters willing to pay a premium for comfort, especially in a city grappling with noise, pollution, traffic congestion, and crowded streets while still staying close to work or family.
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While most developers now quote prices based on RERA-defined carpet area, brokers point out that the cost of expansive common amenities is often embedded into the per sq ft rate, effectively passing on the burden of loading to the buyer.
A report by real estate consultancy ANAROCK highlights that the loading factor has been rising steadily across India’s top cities, driven by growing demand for lifestyle-rich residential projects with modern, shared facilities.
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What is the loading factor?
The loading factor is the difference between the super-built-up area and the carpet area of the apartment. A report released by ANAROCK, a real estate consultancy firm in June 2025 had said that the loading factor is the highest in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) followed by Bengaluru, and Delhi NCR.
“Q1 2025 data shows that homebuyers in the top seven cities now get only 60% of the total space they pay for an actual liveable area within their apartments. The remaining 40% comprises common areas such as elevators, lobbies, staircases, clubhouses, terraces, and other amenities. Back in 2019, the average loading was around 31%,” Prashant Thakur, Regional Director and Head, Research and Advisory, ANAROCK Group, had said in June 2025.
