The quest for property has not subsided among the Indians; nor do they have any doubts over the appreciation potential of real asset. They still consider property the tangible asset class that is less prone to market volatility, compared to stock market and other avenues of investment. However, they need a bit of cushioning this festive season to take a plunge into the property market.
Indian real estate has historically been very optimistic on the eve of every festive season. The post festive season sales number may not back the pre-festive bullishness, but the sector has been known to be hoping to make merry year after year. After all, real estate is a sentiment driven business and the stakeholders try best to create an ambience of positivity to bring the fence sitting buyers back to the market, often with festive discounts and freebies.
The input cost escalation has indeed brought the catch 22 situation for the real estate developers in this part of the world. As per the industry estimates, the input cost of various construction raw materials has surged from 20-35 per cent in the last 12-18 months. The property prices in the proportional ratio have not increased and in most of the micro markets across India the prices during the said period are at a standstill.
The months before the festive season are generally lull for the property market. Indians are mentally wired to buy the high valuables on the auspicious dates during the festivals. However, this seems to be changing in the property market this time around, as economic rationale indicates preference over religious beliefs. The vast majority of the home buyers anticipate price appreciation during the festive season.
Post Covid, the Indian real estate is witness to a K-shape recovery where the listed & larger players are increasing their market share at the cost of smaller ones. Prima facie, what sounds like a market-linked reform, have concerns & repercussions that run much deeper. Is the current criterion of assessing a market with fiscal performance justified? Can only a handful of branded developers be the answer to India’s housing woes, questions Track2Realty.
Should businesses continue to operate out of old jaded buildings at the heart of the city? Is it more convenient for the commercial activities to move to the upscale swanky offices on the periphery locations where the cost of doing business per square feet is much lesser? Is ‘Walk to Work’ only a city center reality across the urban pockets? These are the subjects of serious discussions across the built environment of commercial real estate world over, finds Track2Realty.
This is not a one-off stray incident of cheating in the housing market in this part of the world. Srikanth had a similar experience with the Gurugram-based developer when he wished to sell out his much-delayed under-construction property due to medical emergency in the family. The developer refused to transfer the property in the name of the new buyer. He instead offered him to buy back the said property at three years old price when Srikanth had booked the apartment. The choice for this harassed home buyer was to either forget about the appreciation or else get into a costly and lengthy litigation.
Stock market is generally defined as the “Bull market versus ‘Bear Market’. In real estate, the expression has generally been all about ‘Bullish Market’, ‘Upbeat market’, ‘Wait & Watch Market’, and ‘Pessimist Market’. ‘Bear Market’ as a term has generally not been used in the context of the housing market. Track2Realty questions why? Is it because a ‘Bear Market’ is just not possible in real estate? Or is it because real estate as an asset class has an altogether different means of cost & benefit analysis.
Provident Housing has garnered massive interest for its latest project, Provident Ecopolitan located in Aerospace Park in North Bengaluru. An overwhelming number of Expressions of Interest (EoIs) have been recorded ahead of the project launch on August 19, 2023. Ecopolitan has a total of 956 apartments in 1, 2 and 3 BHK configurations ranging from 625 sq. ft. to 1,427 sq. ft. with more than 60% lung spaces.
Corporate governance & professionalism seem to be the emerging mantra of survival for Indian real estate. But the man who visualised the need for this decades back, maintains a low profile to not take any credit as the first-mover of institutionalising Indian real estate. As the industry body CREDAI decorates Ravi Puravankara for the lifetime achievement, Ravi Sinha interviews him to understand what goaded this first-mover to adopt corporate governance.