Amidst all the misleading claims and marketing exaggerations, location mapping is the most glaring one. Generally maps are not to scale and give the wrong perception of the location of the project. For example, the brochure will say 10 minutes from the airport or commercial district; it does not state distance in kilometres.
Urban planning experts believe this is a much deeper question because it is not just about the existing urban centres but also about the way urbanisation is eventually going to happen in this country. As per the UN statistics the urban population of 40 crore in India would be 60 crore in less than 20 years of time. It clearly suggests that the existing cities won’t be able to fit in this additional 20 crore population, whether indigenous or migrants.
Virtuous Retail South Asia has acquired the 2 million sq ft North Country Mall from Sun Apollo/Gumberg for INR 700 crores (USD 108 MM), including paying down debt. With this acquisition, VRSA establishes its presence in North India, adding to its existing award winning portfolio of community-centric centers VR Surat and VR Bangalore, and the 2 million sq ft. VR Chennai slated to open in Q4 2017.
Are the CBDs really losing out as the benchmark of economic activity in the major cities of India? Well, if only Gurgaon business destinations as against Connaught Place or Nehru Place in Delhi-NCR are any indication, or if only BKC and Navi Mumbai as against Nariman Point in Mumbai is any indication, then the CBDs have lost a significant ground by all means of reputation and economic scale.
Credit Worthiness is defined by individual’s Credit Score which is calculated based on her/his credit history. Credit history is basically how much debt an individual owes or had in the past; how was the payment schedule – regular, timely, late, etc; how often does one borrow; is person a loan guarantor in any transaction; and so on so forth. All these indicate at borrower’s current financial health and repayment capability.
Buyers today wish to be part of the construction process. The question is to what extent it is feasible to bridge the trust deficit in the sector by involving the buyer. For example, a developer with plans of multi-city villa project has asked the home buyers to customize their requirements themselves on the developer’s website. The idea is to get the feedback of the end users’ needs and aspirations.
In terms of pure economics renting out a property as against buying it may sound to be logical due to poor rental yield across India, the market reality beyond fiscal prudence is not that simple. In most of the Indian cities the tenants have to pass through a number of uncomfortable questions ranging from food habits to personal lifestyle choice before they can get a rental property for living. The process itself is very tedious and prone to leave grey zones.
There has been less of compact housing on offer and hence one wonders whether there are few takers for 1BHK in the city or there are certain other fundamentals of execution that come in the way of creating compact housing units.
How many affordable homebuyers who leave to work early morning and come back late night actually need amenities like free Wi-Fi, amphitheatre, club, tennis court, swimming pool etc? Are many buyers in the average salaried class in a position to avail these facilities even though the developer has created e everything within the project? How long such fancy amenities are maintained once the project is over and the monthly maintenance charges are a huge issue?
An industry leader, Kaustuv brings over two decades of real estate industry experience. Kaustuv’s appointment as Managing Director for New Business growth in India marks his return to Cushman & Wakefield.