Here is a live example worth knowing about. Search “Sobha Scarlet” and you are told the project completes in December 2029 and starts around ₹3.33 Cr. Search “Sobha Altair” — the same project, under its official name — and you get May 2031 and about ₹2.96 Cr. Eighteen months and ₹37 lakh apart, decided by which name you typed.
Key takeaways
- A renamed project leaves two sets of pages online, and only one gets updated.
- The codename pages freeze at pre-registration estimates.
- Figures attached to a RERA number are the ones to use.
- Check the date on any page quoting you a price or a possession year.
- Search both names, then reconcile against the filing.
The case: Sobha Altair — formerly codename Scarlet, with both figure sets still circulating. We put them side by side on the listing page.
What actually happens when a project is renamed
A project is planned under a working name. Channel partners build pages around that name early, because early is when the traffic is uncontested.
Then the project is registered and launched under its official name. New pages appear. The old ones do not come down, because they still rank and still generate enquiries.
What almost never happens is that the old pages get updated. They carry whatever figures were current when they were built, indefinitely, with no date on them.
So the internet ends up holding two versions of one project: the pre-registration estimates under the codename, and the registered figures under the official name.
Both look equally authoritative. Neither says which it is. And the gap between them can be large enough to change a purchase decision.
It is worth being clear that this is not usually deception. A page built in good faith two years ago is simply an old page, and nobody has an incentive to go back and revise figures on it.
That makes it your problem rather than anyone’s fault, which is exactly why the checks below are worth running yourself.
The specific gap, in this case
Worth laying out, because the size of it is the point.
| Figure | Codename pages | Registered project |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | Dec 2029 | May 2031 |
| Price from | ~₹3.33 Cr | ~₹2.96 Cr |
| Configurations | 3, 3.5, 4.5 BHK | 3 & 4 bed |
| Size range | 1,850 – 2,500 sq ft | 1,894 – 2,570 sq ft |
Every row differs. The possession gap is eighteen months, which on a construction-linked payment plan is a substantial amount of extra carry.
And note the price moves down, not up, which is counterintuitive and a reminder that stale figures are not always stale in the direction you would guess.
The configuration row matters too. If you have been shown a 4.5 BHK that the registered project does not list, you need to know that before you choose a unit.
How to tell which version you are reading
Four checks, none of which take more than a minute.
Look for a date. A page with no publication or update date, quoting a specific price and possession year, should be treated as undated and unreliable. Reputable pages date their figures.
Look for a RERA number. Pages built before registration cannot carry one. A page with a registration number is at least post-registration; a page without one on a registered project is probably pre-launch material.
Check the developer’s own site. It will carry only the current official name, which immediately tells you which of your two search terms is current.
Compare the size ranges. Small differences in a published size range — 1,850 versus 1,894 — are a reliable tell that one set is an estimate and the other is measured.
Our guide to what to check when a project is renamed covers the paperwork side of the same problem.
Which figures to actually use
There is a clear order of precedence here and it resolves the conflict every time.
- The RERA filing. Declared completion date, carpet areas, block and unit counts. Legal weight.
- The developer’s own project page. Authoritative on name, configurations and size range.
- Post-registration secondary pages carrying the registration number.
- Pre-registration codename pages. Historical interest only.
Where one and two disagree, take one. Where three and four disagree, take three. And never average two figures from different tiers — you will produce a number that is true of nothing.
That last point is worth dwelling on. Averaging a Dec 2029 date with a May 2031 date gives you mid-2030, which is not what any source says and not what any filing declares.
State both, use the higher-precedence one, and go and read the filing. Our guide on how to read a RERA filing covers what to take from it.
Why this is getting more common
Two trends are making this a bigger problem than it used to be.
The first is that codename launches have become standard practice. Developers gather interest under a working name for months before registration, which means there is a long window in which codename pages are the only pages.
The second is that search engines reward established pages. A codename page that has been live for a year may outrank the official project page, which means the stale version is what a new buyer finds first.
Put together, the default experience for a buyer researching a recent launch is to land on pre-registration figures without knowing it.
The defence is the habit rather than any single check: before you rely on a price or a date, find out whether the page you read it on predates the registration. If it does, go and find the current number.
It takes five minutes and, in the case we worked through here, it is worth eighteen months of planning and ₹37 lakh of budgeting.
One last habit worth adopting. When you find a figure you intend to rely on, save the page as a dated PDF or screenshot along with where it came from.
Weeks later, when three numbers are competing in your notes, the dated record tells you which source each belongs to. That is the difference between reconciling a conflict and guessing at one.
Common questions
Why do two pages give different prices for the same project?
Usually because one was built under the project’s codename before registration and never updated, while the other carries post-registration figures. Both look equally authoritative and neither says which it is.
Are Sobha Scarlet and Sobha Altair the same project?
Yes. Scarlet was the codename used during planning and Altair is the official marketed name. Codename pages report a December 2029 possession and prices from about 3.33 crore; the registered project reports May 2031 and from about 2.96 crore.
How do I tell if a property page has stale figures?
Look for a publication or update date, look for a RERA registration number which pre-launch pages cannot carry, check the developer’s own site for the current name, and compare size ranges, since estimates and measured figures differ slightly.
Which figures should I use when sources conflict?
In order: the RERA filing, then the developer’s own project page, then post-registration secondary pages carrying the registration number, then pre-registration codename pages. Never average figures from different tiers.
Why do codename pages often rank higher than official ones?
Because they have usually been live longer, and search engines reward established pages. A codename page published a year before launch can outrank the official project page, so a new buyer often lands on stale figures first.
Been quoted from a page you are unsure about?
Send us the link and the project and we will tell you whether those figures predate registration, and what the filing currently declares. Takes us a day, no charge.
Related reading
The figures cited here are as the respective pages carried them on the date we read them; pages change. Figures above are drawn from published project information and are indicative. Where sources conflicted we have stated both positions rather than picking one. Verify any registration yourself on the Karnataka RERA portal before paying a booking amount.
