With the Government of India approving an increase in the carpet area of houses for the two middle-income group categories, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban, the industry stakeholders are getting euphoric as if this is the panacea for the ills that the afflicted the business.
Contrary to the general perception that the eco system is getting tougher for the builders due to home buyers’ activism, vigilante media and judicial intervention, the facts suggest that the developers have been given too long ropes to cross the bridge over the buyers’ interests. As a matter of fact, there are many instances of amnesty to the developers in the last few years.
Ashiana Housing has been among the first to spot the potential of the town and move into Bhiwadi market. Its Joint Managing Director, Ankur Gupta agrees that when the promises of major infrastructure like roads, transportation, water, sewage facilities and education facilities are provided, the real growth of Bhiwadi is inevitable. Retail and commercial projects like Village Center, Angan Plaza are already there and many more landmark developments are also coming up.
A section of home equipment suppliers even admit that over-dependence on builder contracts that ensure bulk buying, going overboard on commitments and under-utilisation of retail network are the major reasons why they are trapped in a vicious circle today.
As per the data available with Track2Realty, the Malayalese and other South Indian NRIs are nowadays investing into Kochi and Coimbatore than Bangalore or Chennai. Gujarati NRIs are investing into Ahmedabad and Vadodara than Mumbai. Mumbai-born NRIs are investing into Pune and Nashik than Mumbai. North Indian NRIs are investing into Noida and Ghaziabad than Gurgaon. One common thread into all these investments is scaling down of property segment – from ultra luxury to mid-segment and premium housing.
The satellite towns and periphery locations of major cities across the country has been stigmatised as the last refuge of the struggling home buyers. The collective consciousness looks at these locations meant for buyers who have no choice but to compromise with their wants and needs. These locations often have not helped their cause with poor infrastructure and connectivity, thus lending credence to the critics’ aspersions as down market locations.
HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Auhtority) is making all efforts to project the market as investment destination and once operational the KMP (Kindly-Manesar-Palwal) Expressway will connect the Neharpar area with Delhi and Gurgaon. A three-km flyover between Delhi and Faridabad which will ease traffic bottlenecks at the Badarpur border has already cleared the traffic bottlenecks in the area. Six-laning of the existing bypass road starting from Badarpur, parallel to the Agra and Gurgaon canals is further adding to its connectivity.
The Central and States governments are now contemplating many ways and means to provide access to housing for all. Affordable housing will not only fill the housing gap but be the next major economic growth driver by creating more than 2 million jobs during the period till 2022.
Where is the growth corridor of Noida that could lead this market as another case study in attracting that kind of investment? The answer to this is not easy, not because of lack of a growth corridor but due to the problem of plenty. While the Atta Market of sector 18 continues to be its main Central Business District (CBD) even today, the emerging growth corridors are even better positioned to put Noida high on the radar of investors.
Many of the homebuyers in their desperate instinct are thinking of immediately stopping EMIs (Equated Monthly Installments) to banks. However, many of them are conscious of the fact that stopping EMI is not a solution. If buyers stop servicing their home loans (as they are not sure if they will get a house), it may impact their credit rating.