Kolhapur district is no longer considered as just rural and agrarian. Today, the demand for good quality residences has increased with improvements in jobs and other economic activities. This has also led to the increasing demand for commercial real estate. Some of the companies are increasingly evaluating the city for business establishments, as the cost of doing business per square feet in Kolhapur is much cheaper than Mumbai or Pune.
The new regulatory regime is largely about steps, which include streamlining approval processes, simplifying taxation (GST), building institutional capacity, as also introducing urban planning and real estate-related reforms (RERA and REITs).
A year back at the end of 2016, the doom mongers were out in force. In our office sector there were those who were predicting a slump in demand, uncertainty around the new Government in the US, the scare stories around automation and AI, the performance of the top 5 Indian ITeS companies, exaggerations around layoffs and even the dramas of corporate Boards of great Indian technology companies.
The slowdown was predicted much ahead to the introduction of GST and RERA and we were prepared for it. Whenever there is a new law or regulation, changes are bound to impact any market and we must cautiously tread the transition phase. At the same time, the impact usually does not last long as people adapt to changes quickly. We continue to see good traction in our business despite these market challenges. Our business is based on certain core values, which we amplify to face tough challenges.
Technology is a great enabler that is today helping to reduce the construction timelines, cost of construction & optimise land competence. Pre-cast construction methods such as Alu-form and Waffle Crete technology and new construction materials such as Autoclaved Aerated Lightweight Concrete Blocks, fly ash bricks and building blocks made of mud that has been stabilised with cement or lime are alternative technological advancements.
Beating the slowdown blues, Bangalore-based developers DLF and Brigade continued their growth momentum with increase in revenue an profit. DLF, on the contrary, continued to lose the market share and revenue as slow sales hit the developer leading to quarter-on-quarter slide.
The 30th-floor single level unit of the new Four Seasons Private Residences at Embassy ONE has been sold for a record-breaking INR 50 crores, the highest price ever fetched for a branded residence in South India.
There is a growing debate within the realm of second home market as to what is the psychograph of the buyer. Whether they actually go for affordability or location or amenities, or all these factors collectively drive the second home buyers. These are the emerging market realities and till recently the property investment pattern across the country in general and Mumbai in particular suggested that there existed a symbiotic relation between the second home and an affordable home.
In Pune, on the contrary, IT/ITeS may be one of the high demand zones for education, yet it is not that only IT/ITeS driven educational institutions are flourishing. As a matter of fact, and industry players agree to it, education sector has grown in the city in all the segments, be it IT/ITeS or any other professional/vocational education.
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.