8 out of every ten home buyers in the Indian cities are sulking with the unfair trade practices of the real estate developers. Only 20 per cent of the buyers said they received a defect-free home and timely possession. The low customer satisfaction index was as much evident with developers offering affordable housing as with luxury housing.
While there seems to be a crisis of credibility in the real estate sector on part of the investors, a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) says otherwise. It says the traditional investment options like gold, government bonds and bank fixed deposits are considered old school.
In India the early 1990s experienced the shopping malls expanding their footprint with well designed, built on international formats of retailing and integrated with entertainment and restaurants to provide a complete family experience. Shopping centers till then were designed and built to house several shops in a single facility.
There have been many cases where the project gets a kick start and invites bookings only on the paper. The property dealer with their minor gains/commission advices the gullible buyers to put their money in the projects. The prospective buyer must take the help of a local advocate and request him to prepare a search report.
Indian retail today stands at an inflexion point where the sector is poised to take a giant leap. Jones Lang LaSalle’s latest research offering ‘India Retail – Opportunities in a Revolution’ explores the potential in the Indian retail real estate in the coming years.