Godrej Properties has strengthened its brand leadership for the 2nd consecutive year. The 9th edition of Track2Realty BrandXReport 2020-21 finds that the K-shaped recovery in the Indian real estate has helped most of the organized developers with corporate governance, at the cost of the large universe of the companies operating like personal fiefdoms.
It is not just the fiscal performance or the stock market resilience that have elevated Godrej Properties to the coveted brand leadership across India. The performance has been remarkable and ever improving on various scale leading to better consumer experience and consumer connect. In a gloomy market of uncertainty, Godrej Properties looks most promising to meet the delivery commitments as well. Last, but not the least, while most of the corporate entities found it altogether challenging turf in the business of real estate, Godrej appears to be a natural real estate brand beyond its market presence in other businesses.
Apart from the top cities, Tier 2 & 3 cities are also on the radar of many PE funds which see these cities actively driving retail going forward. At least 36% (nearly USD 1 bn) retail-focused funds went to cities like Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Nagpur and Mohali. In 2019, ANAROCK Capital was instrumental in Virtuous Retail South Asia (a JV between Singapore’s PE firm Xander Group and Dutch institutional investor APG) concluding a USD 100 mn deal with TRIL for two retail malls – one each in Nagpur and Amritsar.
A large share of global buyers (NRIs & HNIs) don’t wish to invest in the Indian property market. 78% of them have their own reasons to look towards overseas property market. The recent banking woes have further dented their confidence to invest in India. They also feel that the property prices in India are way too higher, compared to the overall value proposition on offer.
Highly-established developers are known to conduct careful research on their locations and are therefore able to pinpoint the most happening growth corridors. They know what product works best, and where it works best. While end-users are assured that they are buying into a well-researched area, this fact also ‘raises the bottom’ for investors who are looking for the right product to back.
The CP story is very old, one that spans about 50 years or more. It was NCR’s central business district (CBD). It is still probably the CBD. But office space in CP is stagnated. The new business districts such as Cybercity, GCR, Aerocity and GCE are growing at a rapid pace, meeting an enormous demand for commercial office space. Now, it’s a tale of two cities- Delhi and Gurgaon.
In terms of the overall brand gain for the year, Embassy has been way ahead of the competition curve post the REIT listing. Embassy has jumped from its last fiscal ranking at Number 5 to now at Number 2. As a matter of fact, Embassy is just 0.4 brand score behind Sobha Limited. Moreover, Embassy has taken a lead ahead of Sobha in terms of NRI perception. Moving forward, Embassy Group with diversified portfolio could have an edge over Sobha Limited.
Entity-level investment is an efficient strategy to get a firmer foothold in the real estate market. It allows a private equity investment firm to not only deploy its capital but also gain synergetic skills in the real estate marketplace. PE firms invariably look for high levels of corporate governance in a real estate development company before deciding to invest in it at an entity level.
There is a public perception that what has transformed this once non-descript city into thriving metro city is the gulf money since a large number of Kochi residents are working in the gulf region. However, Kochi property market is not being driven by gulf money alone; this could be only a reality in the luxury segment.
In the second edition of evaluating the best practices being followed in the Indian real estate, Bangalore-based Sobha Limited has yet again maintained its leadership position. As a matter of fact, it has improved its performance, compared to first study with Track2Realty best Practices Report 2017.