The journalists covering real estate news are always on the lookout for the grey areas and these buyers’ associations feed them. In exchange, they are always in the news and that lends them credibility in the given market.
The real estate markets across the major cities is today witness to a new spate of consumer activism which is more political in its functioning than consumer centric. Worse even, many of them even operate as the de facto consumer courts in advising others in how they should take on the builders.
Some call it market intelligence and not due diligence where the focus should be more on the micro markets than general trends which could be misleading. However, there are many grey areas where in the absence of proper research and reliable data even the assessment of ground realities is not feasible.
Beyond the economic rationale, the developers assert that they are doing their homework properly. One of the largest developers claims it has its own empanelled brokers to give constant feedback on the market before the launch of any new project. They supplement it with a proper in-house research of the market, the catchment area, competition and other market forces.
The fact of the matter is that in the absence of any regulation that defines the standard measurement of super built-up area, built-up area and carpet area, every developer defines it as per his convenience. There is no scientific methodology that defines what is an ideal loading percentage.
Swadeep Sharma was on a house hunt in Noida for the last two years. Last year he could find a house of choice at one of the newly delivered projects in Noida Expressway at INR 5600 per sq feet. He could, however, not manage his finances then. Now that he has managed his finances, he went to the same location anticipating shelling out more money. He was, however, taken by surprise. The apartment in the same society is today available at INR 4800 per sq feet.
An outside view on the Indian real estate market may get confused with the fact that mismatch in delivery and performance is lesser in luxury projects than even affordable housing. Isn’t it a fact that buyers in low income housing are more price conscious and more concerned to check & cross check than those nouveau riche who have enough money to splurge?
Delivery delays, mismatch in area, changes in structure or designs in a project and developers going back on other promises have been quite common. These issues have given rise to consumer activism, in courts and outside. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) slapping a fine of INR 630 crore on DLF gave some hope to the buyers.
Child friendly homes are ideally suited for parents planning families or those with young children. While this strategy may narrow the market somewhat for the developers since the target buyers is a small group, these homes are ideally suited to people wanting to rent homes as well since they provide a ready environment for the parents who have to deal with many challenges when moving to a new city.
Would you like to monitor the use of power consumption and many such feasible conveniences on your mobile phone itself while sitting in your office? Would you like to switch on and off the equipments and even control the access to your apartment while holidaying? The answer once again is the smart home that enables you with convenience and comfort.