Nobody can say with final authority
as to what type of realty project or projects will make a dent in the market,
says Vivek Shukla
Day: Sunday.
Place: Greater Noida Expressway. Time: 2pm. On the way from Delhi to Greater
Noida on any Saturday or Sunday, you would find tents of realtors. Staffers of
realty companies sit inside these makeshift tents, and there is a huge a
stretch of land behind the tents. Naturally, the staffers of realty firms wait
for their prospective customers.
However, what
strikes any passerby is that in most such tents, either there is nobody or only
a few people enquiring about the details of the projects. Given the fact that
realty market is reviving after realtors slashed the cost of flats, floors
and plots, the above scene looks a little confusing. The pertinent question
that arises is whether customers are avoiding projects where construction work
has not started at all. The jury is still out on this issue, but some experts
on realty matters admit that unlike in the past the new-age customer is very
smart and he/she ensures that their investment does not create headache for
him/her later. Hence, they thoroughly check the background of realty firms
before taking the final call. They even inspect past projects of builders,
whose current projects are of interest to them.
If there is
even an iota of truth in the argument that prospective customers prefer to book
their house in only ongoing projects, where they can see some flurry of
activity, then DLF’s Capital Green project in Phase-II is an exception. Booking
for the project was commenced on September 22 and on the very first day, over
three thousand people made their bookings with earnest money — and for 1250
flats on offer, bookings were three times the figure. This is enough to prove
that realty market is improving, even if it is not on fire.
However,
Sunil Jindal, CEO of SVP group, has a different take on this matter. “I can
tell you from my own experience that more often than not, customers invest in
those properties where they find some kind of activity. If they see that work
is on, then they invest. I have observed this tendency among customers in our
many projects. Let alone the projects of big-time realty firms, selling flat,
floor or plot on barren land is not at all an easy task. Selling dream is not
possible nowadays as media has exposed the handiwork of a large number of
realty firms in cornering huge sums from people after promising the moon,”
Jindal says.
R K Arora,
CMD of Supertech Limited, takes a different line and says
that it is not right to say customers prefer to book their dream houses only
when they see some kind of construction work in progress. “If that is the case
then all the realty firms will start their projects and easily sell their
products. However, the world of realty does not work that way. Fact of the
matter is, nobody knows which project can kick up a storm in the market and
which one will fall flat.”
Meanwhile,
Anu Gupta, director of realty advisory Century 21, says it is a huge task to
read the mindset of any particular customer. Of course, some prefer to book
their houses where construction work is on. That gives them a huge a sense of
confidence. However, the image of some realty firms too counts. “It goes without saying
that the image of realty firms like Unitech, Hiranandani, Jaypee, DLF and
others have stood the test of time owing to many years of their solid work.
Naturally, a large number of discerning customers consider this fact also.
Hence, when such companies launch their projects, people go and book their
flats and floors there,” Gupta says. Sharing his views, Rajeev Rai,
vicepresident of Assotech, says the relationship shared between customers and
an established brand is very important as no buyer is willing to compromise on
the functionality and quality of the real estate product.
“In the light
of this fact I can say the brand value of the developer affects the buying
decision of customers. The popularity of a brand results in optimum sales and
increased consumer awareness, which is independent of the construction status
of that project.” East Delhi based businessman Sandeep Wahal belongs to that
category of customers who have booked flats in that builder’s project who
promised construction-linked payment plan. That is why he decided to book a
flat constructed by a fairly well-known company in Gurgaon. At the end of the
day, one thing is absolutely clear that nobody can say with final authority as
to what type of realty project or projects will make a dent in the market.
