Track2Realty Roundtable
Panelists—Dr Anil Sharma, CMD, Amrapali Group
Sunil Dahiya—Sr Vice President, NAREDCO & MD Vigneshwara Developers
Harmit Chawla—MD, HCorp Realty
PK Tripathi—President, Unitech
Moderator—Ravi Sinha, CEO & Managing Editor, Track2Realty
Ravi Sinha: Many of the developers have realised that focus on execution and not the land bank is the key. Companies which overleveraged their balance sheets or branched out into non-core areas have failed. Developers have also learnt it the hard way that real estate is a micro market business and fancy expectations of going pan-India can boomerang. Are not these tough lessons?
PK Tripathi: Pan-India is an ambition that every developer will have depending upon the cash flows and market response. Secondly, the realisation has come to the developers that they need to self-regulate as customers have started raising their voices on principal issues. Regulator has come out of the government’s move to push pressure. And then from a finance point of view, it is coming at a project level, and not at the corporate level.
So, the developers will now onwards focus on the delivery of the projects as quickly as possible. So, focussed financing, focussed delivery, focussed customer demand and focussed regulatory environment is imminent ahead.
Sunil Dahiya: See, lot of speculation was being made that some players will collapse which did not happen in 2012 which is a good sign. It works like a pack of cards, it is not like if one falls down then others will not get affected. I feel relieved in 2012 and 2013 looks brighter. Second point what I have learnt was that every developer has to find his niche into what he is doing better.
There are certain developers who have found a very good niche in doing the affordable category. Now is the time we need to find our niches. If one tries to do cross breeding of all segments, I think that is where the occupational capabilities will differ so these are two learning that I have seen.
Ravi Sinha: Any specific emerging trend that you feel would be the norm in the year ahead?
Anil Sharma: The year 2013 is going to be the year of city development because thus far our urbanisation has been very slow. So, the coming year is going to have a good and fair development for the tier II and III cities compared to the tier I cities.
Harmit Chawla: Emerging trend is one that people share the kind of clutter that are there in the tier I cities and at the end of the day, you have to do business so you will move. There is demand happening in cities like Bhopal, which are also the tougher markets. They are not easy markets, they are very tough markets but developers will move to these markets.
PK Tripathi: I think it is consolidation and people will focus on what they have. Don’t buy any land and build upon what you have. Be very conservative and not very ambitious. Second is how do I reduce the cost of my construction?
New technology & innovation will get focussed. How do I use my resources which are important like water, electricity etc? We have to become focussed on all the inputs that we are using for development of a project.
….to be continued
