Track2Realty Exclusive: Samarjeet Singh went on a house hunt in Mumbai with the obvious expectations of entering into a buyers’ market. The reported stress and standing inventory of 48 months made him believe that this is the right time to negotiate the deal and also get the immediate possession with a record inventory available in the market.
Track2Realty Exclusive: As the country heads towards the General Elections with policy uncertainties expected to get clarity ahead once a new Government assumes office, it seems Indian real estate is yet again high on the wish list of the investors, both domestic and international. If the investments and the policy announcements since the second half of 2013 are any indication, there has been a clear indication that the phase of over-cautious market sentiments is getting over.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Has populism been behind the Maharashtra Government notification on affordable housing is the question that everyone within the built environment of real estate is today asking. There is a general feeling among the developers that the Maharashtra Government notification for the builders developing a housing project on a 4,000 sq m (acre) plot to reserve 20 per cent of the area for affordable housing is not in sync with the market reality.
Track2Realty Exclusive: No institution is born into greatness; they have to ascend their way into greatness. The only real lasting lesson of institution building is that values create value. If you do not have values, no amount of advertising billboards can get you an enduring image of excellence. There can be glory in the short run perhaps, but a lasting reputation can be built only on integrity of purpose and ethics and an indomitable will to never compromise on standards.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The term ‘serviced apartment’ is traditionally used to describe an apartment alternative to hotel accommodation for long stay leisure or business travelers. However there are two types of accommodation namely extended stay and corporate housing. It is built in a manner where a furnished accommodation, comparatively larger than a hotel room, with small kitchenette is provided with basic facilities of a household, sometimes even provided with concierge service.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The real-estate category has taken the product-led path to brand building. Products occupy centre-stage in advertising campaigns; properties serve as brand emblems. Developers build properties, showcase them through advertisements, customers experience drives word-of-mouth, which in turn generates additional customers and on it goes. Through this iterative process, a brand is built. In other words, the brand identity is inherent in the developer’s real-estate footprint.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The Gujarat real estate has by and large reasons to feel satisfied with its better-than-national average performance during the year 2013. It would be safe to maintain that the property market in the state has weathered the slowdown blues better than many other matured property markets across the country and the developers are better off now than in 2009. As per rough estimates 50 per cent of top companies in the state have improved on their debt servicing while 30 per cent will see a fall in debt from next fiscal.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Home buyers across the country find the reports of price appreciation a manipulative marketing myth. They blame a strong cartel of brokers/underwriters responsible for artificial appreciation which does not have any market logic. What comes as a bad news for the developers and promises to redefine the market dynamics of the real estate is the fact that buyers’ awareness has caught on the market manipulation that appreciates property prices unreasonably. It also indicates the marketing strategy of the realty companies is not grounded while operating in an eco system of brokers/underwriters to absorb the artificial appreciation.
Track2Realty: To improve responsible business practices in the land, real estate and construction industry, the United Nations Global Compact and RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) will jointly develop a best practice toolkit for the sector. The collaboration marks the UN Global Compact’s first initiative to address corporate sustainability in a specific sector following the recent launch of its Post-2015 Business Engagement Architecture.
Track2Realty Exclusive: If regulatory changes have been a cause of concern for the developers in the Gujarat real estate market, the political uncertainty prior to the general elections definitely threatens to prolong the slump in the realty market. Elections and real estate have a symbiotic relationship where elections bring a kind of stasis that is unproductive.