Track2Realty Exclusive: Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune…wait India has just discovered yet another claimant as the ‘Luxury Capital’. The City of Ahmedabad known more for its cost conscious living and affordable housing has been witness to the city’s slow but steady rise to the luxury living with developers’ focus shifting on luxury projects, buyers’ looking up to scale their living and luxury brands flocking to the city.
Track2Realty: Office markets in India registered a downward trend in overall net absorption for the first three quarters of 2013, as per the latest report released by global real estate consultants, Cushman & Wakefield.
Track2Realty: Kolte-Patil Developers (KDPL) has launched four new luxury projects- Tuscan Estate Signature Meadows, Downtown, 24K Glamore and 3rd Avenue at Life Republic in Pune to develop a total of 1.8 million sq.ft. for these new projects.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The question before Indian real estate today is what makes a luxury living? Is it high-end apartments? No. Luxury living is creating an ambience in totality that not just matches the aspiration level, but exceeds it.
Track2Realty Survey: Is a buyer ready to pay premium for the brand reputation of the developer? Majority of the brand conscious buyers’ say ‘NO’ unless the big brand has offering to match the high price and differentiate the product. In the high-end category, 40 per cent of the buyers are ready to pay a premium.
Track2Realty Survey: The question is what shapes public perception as far as brand premium of a real estate company is concerned? User experience and word of mouth publicity is what matters to them and advertising is nothing more than a medium to know about the new launches.
Track2Realty Exclusive: There is no clear-cut definition of the term ‘affordable’, as it is a relative concept and could have several indirect meanings in different contexts. In India, private developers primarily target luxury, high-end and upper-mid housing segment, since it fetches a premium over low income housing. This leads to a sustained supply for this segment, increasing market competitiveness for developers.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The Indian real sector has evoked mixed response to the Union Budget 2013-14, though by and large there is optimism within the sector. Here are some of the responses—
Track2Realty Exclusive: Vidya Basarkod, President, Sales and Marketing, Jaypee Greens believes though the Indian economy has gone through turbulent phase of slowdown, demand for housing has kept the momentum for residential real estate. In an exclusive interview with Track2Realty she asserts though liquidity has been a concern for both the buyers as well as developers, there are more pressing issues hampering the growth of the sector, like delays in approvals, infrastructure bottlenecks and skilled manpower.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The future of integrated townships is fraught with hurdles, yet it is the only win-win housing solution in the horizon. It is one of the primal human desires to own a home at a nice, peaceful locality with most immediate necessities in the vicinity. Till only recently the fulfillment of this desire came at a heavy price, leading people to often settle for less. These days, this has become affordable, thanks to the concept of integrated townships.