Homeward bound
Source: The Hindu
Home they say is where the heart is, but if one goes by all the activity in the real estate market it would be hard to keep one's heart in one place. A few years back, buying a house, flat or even a plot would simply mean that one was getting a roof over ones head. This was satisfying a very basic need, that of housing. Fast-forward to today and housing is no longer just about a roof, it's everything to do with lifestyle, building com-munities, being socially connected, making good investments etc.
The real estate market has become many things and today it is a prime source of investment. The recent economic boom and the growth in the IT and BPO sectors have seen a rise in affluence levels across the board. The return of the Indian Diaspora from greener pastures has resulted in the quality of homes going up. Gated communities, villas and large format flats have now become the norm. It wouldn't be right to assume that real estate has become only about luxury. While the rise in land prices has been astronomical, it hasn't gone quiet out of reach of most people. With the city rapidly expanding its boundaries and with infrastructure keeping pace, hotspots around the city have augmented. Increasingly the average age of the investor/home buyer had decreased.
The housing sector today is one of the largest employers besides the IT industry, and the boom has spawned many a peripheral industry. The furniture and interiors business has also come of age as has the demand for better building materials, better fittings and a lot more emphasis on amenities. Most builders in the city provide the basic amenities of parking, walk areas and children's parks but on the higher end of the scale it goes on to swimming pools, club houses, tennis courts and so on. Landscapes and artificially created lakes are also a big draw.
With so much happening in this sector one is spoilt for choice and a property fair is probably the best way to get more information on what's in and what's out, the pros and cons of getting a home that reflects ones lifestyle and needs. Property fares have ir. the last few years come of age and have given investors and home hunters a one-stop solution to all their needs. It has also provided builden and fi-nancers with a focusstd group of serious buyers and helps them plan future businesses. Most participants in property fairs believe that it is a platform to interact with their customers and give them »s much information as possible, which results in sales in the period following the fairs.
We spoke to a cross section of people in the real estate business and there seems to be a general consensus that there has been a slowdowt in the sector in the last few months. Mehul Doshi of Doshi Housing believes that the demand for housing is really in the Rs 30 to 40 lakh segments but with spiralling costs of land and building materials it's not easy to deliver at that cost. He would like to see more activity in this sector. Jayakumar of IDBI Housing finance agrees that the demand for loans continues to be high in the Rs 15-to 25-lakh bracket but the availability of housing at that price is hard to come by. However, he believes that the genuine buyer is more interested in buying a home and will look at it in the long term rather than the short term, hence the interest rates is only one part of the decision-making process.
Most visitors to property fairs are serious buyers and Anand Jain of Hallmark builders observes that the average age of the buyer is now in the 25 to 35 age group as opposed to the 42 to 52 yrs of a few years ago, and this seems to be the trend in the housing finance sector also. He attributes it to the demand in manpower across all sections, which has resulted in younger people drawing higher salaries and hence disposable incomes being higher. A thought echoed by most builders and financers alike. Mukund Hari of BOB echoes this trend. He believes that the slowdown in the last year was mainly due to the fact that housing had become unaffordable to most but the spin off being that people are now willing to look at areas outside the city and are willing to go in for plots and build later. He opines that the growth has come from around the city and areas that were once a strict no-no has now become hotspots.
Home they say is where the heart is, but if one goes by all the activity in the real estate market it would be hard to keep one's heart in one place. A few years back, buying a house, flat or even a plot would simply mean that one was getting a roof over ones head. This was satisfying a very basic need, that of housing. Fast-forward to today and housing is no longer just about a roof, it's everything to do with lifestyle, building com-munities, being socially connected, making good investments etc.
The real estate market has become many things and today it is a prime source of investment. The recent economic boom and the growth in the IT and BPO sectors have seen a rise in affluence levels across the board. The return of the Indian Diaspora from greener pastures has resulted in the quality of homes going up. Gated communities, villas and large format flats have now become the norm. It wouldn't be right to assume that real estate has become only about luxury. While the rise in land prices has been astronomical, it hasn't gone quiet out of reach of most people. With the city rapidly expanding its boundaries and with infrastructure keeping pace, hotspots around the city have augmented. Increasingly the average age of the investor/home buyer had decreased.
The housing sector today is one of the largest employers besides the IT industry, and the boom has spawned many a peripheral industry. The furniture and interiors business has also come of age as has the demand for better building materials, better fittings and a lot more emphasis on amenities. Most builders in the city provide the basic amenities of parking, walk areas and children's parks but on the higher end of the scale it goes on to swimming pools, club houses, tennis courts and so on. Landscapes and artificially created lakes are also a big draw.
With so much happening in this sector one is spoilt for choice and a property fair is probably the best way to get more information on what's in and what's out, the pros and cons of getting a home that reflects ones lifestyle and needs. Property fares have ir. the last few years come of age and have given investors and home hunters a one-stop solution to all their needs. It has also provided builden and fi-nancers with a focusstd group of serious buyers and helps them plan future businesses. Most participants in property fairs believe that it is a platform to interact with their customers and give them »s much information as possible, which results in sales in the period following the fairs.
We spoke to a cross section of people in the real estate business and there seems to be a general consensus that there has been a slowdowt in the sector in the last few months. Mehul Doshi of Doshi Housing believes that the demand for housing is really in the Rs 30 to 40 lakh segments but with spiralling costs of land and building materials it's not easy to deliver at that cost. He would like to see more activity in this sector. Jayakumar of IDBI Housing finance agrees that the demand for loans continues to be high in the Rs 15-to 25-lakh bracket but the availability of housing at that price is hard to come by. However, he believes that the genuine buyer is more interested in buying a home and will look at it in the long term rather than the short term, hence the interest rates is only one part of the decision-making process.
Most visitors to property fairs are serious buyers and Anand Jain of Hallmark builders observes that the average age of the buyer is now in the 25 to 35 age group as opposed to the 42 to 52 yrs of a few years ago, and this seems to be the trend in the housing finance sector also. He attributes it to the demand in manpower across all sections, which has resulted in younger people drawing higher salaries and hence disposable incomes being higher. A thought echoed by most builders and financers alike. Mukund Hari of BOB echoes this trend. He believes that the slowdown in the last year was mainly due to the fact that housing had become unaffordable to most but the spin off being that people are now willing to look at areas outside the city and are willing to go in for plots and build later. He opines that the growth has come from around the city and areas that were once a strict no-no has now become hotspots.
The biggest dream of a common man is to have a roof under his own name. But the sky rocketing prices by builders and exploitation of the middle class is making it extremely difficult for the common person to buy a property.
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