Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited (MLDL), the real estate and infrastructure development arm of the Mahindra Group, has launched Luminare Solaris, the next phase of its luxury residential project in Gurgaon, located at Sector 59, Golf Course Extension Road.
The FDI relaxation by the Government of India is being hailed as a game changer across the Indian real estate sector. The developers even point out that now since the government has relaxed foreign direct investment norms in the construction sector by removing two major conditions related to minimum built up area and capital requirement, it simply means that any project under construction, regardless of size, can have access to FDI. So, it is going to help the cause of affordable housing.
When a broker recently suggested Himanshu Kapadia that he should better invest in Ulwe, Dronagiri or Nerul of Navi Mumbai this engineer thought the greedy broker is selling the properties out of which he could make more brokerage. There was nothing common between these three locations and even in terms of price point of the residential properties the three given markets had a different profile.
When the Government of India was announcing relaxation with FDI norms a day ahead of Diwali, many analysts thought it to be a Diwali gift for 15 core sectors that could also prolong the festive spirit for the real estate sector.
Haryana Government would like to address it as pro-farmer move, the real estate sector would like to hail it as investment friendly and others within the built environment of real estate would like to call it a step that would bring to the market more supply and hence affordability.
Immediately after the earthquake in Delhi-NCR a builder sends a group WhatsApp message that says: Our project in Noida is NCR’s 1st and only earthquake resistant structure with seismic zone V compliance approved by IIT Bombay. Possession next month.” It does not go down well in the collective consciousness as an impression gains ground that the developers are evaluating the opportunity cost in times of a natural calamity. This message nevertheless raises more questions than it tries to answer that the given project is earthquake complaint.
We keep hearing the term ‘market drivers’ being used in real estate. What are they? Market drivers can be defined as developments in an area that increase the value of living there. It is a well-established fact that infrastructure is by far the most important driver for real estate demand and property appreciation growth.
A few may have succeeded but most of the developers have failed to position themselves right during the slowdown. In the process Track2Realty finds that the brand realty has taken a severe beating, losing the trust of both the end-users and the investors. The brand positioning that differentiates between the two different realty companies is today negligible with developers’ focus to sell. That, unfortunately, is not working for them and commanding premium over the brand reputation today is a far cry. Our team speaks to a cross section of developers, analysts and brand experts who may differ with each other but nearly all agree that sector has to come out of the Catch 22 situation.
Experts recommend certain safeguards a homebuyer should take to evade getting into dicey deals:
Reputation: The buyer should invariably consider the reputation of the builder and their development history and form a fair idea of the credibility of the developer both in terms of timely completion of work and the quality of their construction.
In the real estate market consumer activism in India may have been high in recent times, but consumer awareness is pretty low. Most of the first time home buyers even fail to differentiate between what they want and what they need in an apartment, forget about their knowledge with regard to legalities and necessary checklist. The mismatch between developers’ offerings and buyers’ perception is a critical missing link leading to an impression gaining ground that the developer has not fulfilled his promise.