Almost every buyer we meet has had this moment. Two brochures, two “1,800 sq ft” apartments, and one of them feels noticeably smaller when you walk in. Nobody lied, exactly. They just measured different things.

Let's clear it up using a real example.

A real flat, two numbers

Eldeco Fairway Reserve publishes its official floor plans. The 3 BHK Type A home shows:

  • Carpet area: 1,212.00 sq ft
  • Built-up area: 1,764.27 sq ft

Same home. The gap is about 550 sq ft, and it's all explained by what each number includes.

Carpet area: the space you actually use

Under RERA, carpet area is the net usable floor area of the apartment. It includes internal partition walls, but excludes external walls, service shafts, your exclusive balcony or verandah, and any open terrace. Think of it as the floor you could, in theory, carpet. The RERA Act also requires homes to be sold on a carpet-area basis, which is why it's now the number to compare first.

Built-up area: carpet plus the extras that are yours

Built-up area adds your balconies and the thickness of the external walls to the carpet area. Fairway Reserve's plans spell this out plainly: built-up equals RERA carpet area, plus balcony area, plus external walls. In a project with generous balconies, built-up can be a lot larger than carpet — and that's a good thing, as long as you know what you're looking at.

Super area: your share of everything else

Super (or “saleable”) area goes further and adds a share of common spaces — lobbies, lift cores, staircases, sometimes the clubhouse. It was the number developers loved quoting for years, because it's the biggest. You'll still hear it in conversations, so it's worth knowing.

How to compare two projects fairly

  • Always compare carpet to carpet. It's the cleanest like-for-like number.
  • Then look at balcony size separately. A big, usable balcony has real value, especially if you'll spend evenings out there.
  • Work out the price per sq ft of carpet area, not super area. It's often eye-opening.
  • Ask for the floor plan with dimensions. A 12 × 14 ft bedroom tells you far more than any total.

If you'd like, send us two brochures you're torn between. We'll pull out the carpet areas and give you an honest read on which one gives you more home for the money.