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.

Courtesy:- TOI dt:- 17-10-09

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I am Santosh Kumar Baranwal. I am a Graduate. I am working in Bhardwaj Buildtech pvt. Ltd. as a SEO.

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