We keep hearing the term ‘market drivers’ being used in real estate. What are they? Market drivers can be defined as developments in an area that increase the value of living there. It is a well-established fact that infrastructure is by far the most important driver for real estate demand and property appreciation growth.
A few may have succeeded but most of the developers have failed to position themselves right during the slowdown. In the process Track2Realty finds that the brand realty has taken a severe beating, losing the trust of both the end-users and the investors. The brand positioning that differentiates between the two different realty companies is today negligible with developers’ focus to sell. That, unfortunately, is not working for them and commanding premium over the brand reputation today is a far cry. Our team speaks to a cross section of developers, analysts and brand experts who may differ with each other but nearly all agree that sector has to come out of the Catch 22 situation.
Track2Realty tries to simplify the real estate terminologies in practice that often confuses the buyers. There is no rocket science in real estate that buyers can’t adopt and understand for their own better understanding of the most valuable asset called house.
From being the governance wild child to maturing into a market influencer, India’s real-estate sector has transformed in the past decade, with a paradigm shift from family owned businesses to corporates along with a few companies listing on stock exchanges. The change began with the government opening doors to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2005 and then welcoming the next wave of stability as corporate houses brought image restoration for the sector. Led by corporate entities, realty companies soon adopted corporate governance wherein transparency began to trickle down into the system as a norm slowly.
In an opaque real estate market where house hunt has been a travail and challenging for most of the Indians, Track2Realty takes up the challenge of finding not one but 100 most promising housing projects in the country. From Bangalore to Chennai, Mumbai to Ahmedabad, and Gurgaon to Kasauli; it has been a worm’s-eye view of thousands of housing projects to find 100 best that could stand out as the investment magnet in this first-of-its-kind study.
Some key findings that indicate the aspiration quotient and standing of the Indian real estate:
88% Indians find real estate is still best asset class to invest
72% believe pre-launch or early stage of construction is best bargain
78% maintain upcoming locations give better returns than prime localities
84% homebuyers are sulking & repent their home buying decision
46% homebuyers have too serious issues with the developer to reconcile
For a very long time, Pune was considered little more than a pensioner’s destination which benefited to some extent from its proximity to Mumbai. It was not considered a serious real estate market at a national or international level. This has now changed for good – the city has attained its own unique identity and is firmly in the limelight as a thriving economic microcosm, with a real estate market that has overtaken Mumbai in terms of attractiveness and investment viability.
New recommendations on the Real Estate Regulatory Bill were made by the ministry and sent to PMO for approval, and the cabinet has now approved it. Next, it will be tabled in the Parliament for passing the bill and making it an Act. In essence, reduction of minimum balance to be maintained in the escrow account of a project has been reduced from 70% to 50%. This amount from the monies collected from the buyers must be placed in an escrow account within 15 days.
The stock market is not only showing the investors’ confidence index going up. It is also indicating the way forward for the Indian real estate. After all, investor sentiment on the bourses have often led to the recovery of the real estate market as the investment grows to the next level of confidence for a long term investment. It may be too early for concluding whether the stock recovery is here to stay and lead to revival of the fortunes of the real estate, yet Track2Realty finds the debate has gained ground. While the developers are optimistic about the money sooner than later coming into the sector, the critics have their own reasons to advice wait & watch policy, if not outright denial.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The property markets of the financial capital Mumbai and the political capital Delhi has always been exposed to the reality that it is the expat Indians, the working class professionals, who are the key demand drivers of property. However, in the last over a decade or so this outlook on the migrant work force has become a pan-India phenomenon.