A record low household savings, double digit unemployment, and rising inflation, has added to the harsh reality of Indian home buyers’ high Debt to Income (DTI) ratio. The Covid induced financial hardships have indeed wreaked havoc with many of the Indian home buyers. Despite of the advantages of lower interest rates, their DTI ratio has suddenly shot up beyond what could be termed as manageable level.
In India, the moment you buy a house the joke is on you – whether you get the possession of the house, or that possession is delayed or even denied. The buyers’ harassment starts with the Builder Buyer Agreement which in most of the cases is a one-sided document. The buyers mostly have no other choice but to sign on the dotted lines, because by the time the Builder Buyer Agreement is thrown at their face they have already paid the initial booking amount.
Gagan Randev has joined India Sotheby’s International Realty (India SIR) as Executive Director. Gagan, with experience in the real estate and financial sector, will spearhead India Sotheby’s International Realty’s efforts to focus on asset sales across different asset classes, land, funding, and cross border initiatives.
It is single women and not the married ones who are the real demand drivers of the housing market in India. Contrary to the general perception that marriage is a catalyst for women to look up to house ownership, it is the single women across the cities of India that are more attracted to the property. The choices of single women are as much goaded by the safety of their own roof over head as with the investment horizon.
Beyond the pessimism & optimism and, to some extent, more than expected recovery post the Covid-19 lockdown, the fact remains that 2020 has been by and large the most unforgettable year for the economy in general and the real estate market in particular. The old timers in the business even maintain that this has been even worse year than the global economic collapse after the Lehman crisis in 2008.
While the COVID-19 has by and large dented the confidence level of the real estate developers, Aditya Kushwaha, CEO & Director of Axis Ecorp believes there are silver lining for the players who are forward looking in their approach. In an exclusive interview with Track2Realty, Kushwaha asserts that the Work From Home trend would shift the focus from top metro cities to open spaces in and around the tourist destinations. He therefore urges the government to look at the Holiday Home segment as a priority sector.
The good news is that the Indian home buyers do understand that the lockdown post the Coronavirus was neither in the hands of the builders nor could have been anticipated. They hence don’t object to the period of six months being declared to be Force Majeure. The bad news is that the home buyers across the country feel the government’s declaration of Force Majeure is not in accordance with the law of natural justice. Track2Realty Online Poll finds that the home buyers are demanding equal leeway in the housing market.
For generations, real estate leaders were cautious in changing their business models. But in recent years there has been a significant change. So far the numbers have been on the lower side, but Covid 19, has initiated companies to adopt digital solutions at an unprecedented pace. According to a survey, digitisation is taking precedence across the sector and more than 90 percent of the occupiers and developers are aiming to bring a technological shift in their business operations within the next five years.
For the media business also, the time has come to close this purpose gap — the distance between an organization’s stated aims and its lived behaviour. The longstanding view that the sole purpose of the media is to be the medium of information dissemination and thus maximize shareholder (read advertisers) value would quickly give way to a more balanced way of thinking. There is cut throat and hardly any differentiation in the content and message of an end number of media outlets today. Fortunately, that is our biggest strength with Track2Realty, whether it is in creating differentiation or minimising the purpose gap.
But wait! I suppose the recent Ravi Sinha Uncensored has only added fuel to the fire that you all had in you for a number of years now. I do understand that a journalist like Ravi Sinha bruises your ego and inferiority complex of not being treated with respect. I suppose you are being sandwiched at both the ends – on the one hand a nasty journalist like me showing you the mirror and at the same time you get bulldozed by the unreasonable client demands. Isn’t it?