Festival offers back, realtors expect encouraging period

As the festival is on, the latest reduction in home loan interest rates by SBI will help the sector gain buyers. The prices are already subdued, and buyers will be able to save a little more money. Additionally, the bank will not charge a processing fee and has removed the distinction between salaried and non-salaried borrowers. Developers are also doing their part by coming with offers to help the buyers enjoy the festive season by booking or buying a real estate asset.

In April-June 2021, the market has already picked up the pace with around a 74% rise in new launches and 45% demand in less than Rs 45 lakh bracket; the reduction in interest rates will attract affordable and mid-segment buyers more. Talking about the market sentiment, a growth of 80% in traffic number on Housing.com was witnessed, indicating the increasing buyers’ interest in real estate assets.

Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com, Makaan.com & Proptiger.com, said, “A strong revival in the country’s economic growth in the current fiscal, historical low interest rates on home loans and lucrative festive offers by developers as well as financial institutions will be the major drivers of housing demand. With housing prices remaining stable over the last few years, it is a good opportunity for both end-user customers and investors to enter the market and purchase residential properties. The upcoming festival season is crucial for the real estate sector, and we strongly believe that this could be a turning point for the housing sector that will likely perform exceedingly well over the next several quarters.”

At The Hub, Gaurs Yamuna City near upcoming Noida International Airport, the Gaurs Group has ‘chhota investment, bada fayda’ (Small investment, huge profit) under which people will get 12% return on the investment in shops where retail shops start from Rs 18.49 lakh. At Gaur World Smartstreet (Greater Noida West), the group has one assured gift on every booking, up to 12% investment, and a SUV for a lucky winner; the Group also has an easy payment plan for 30:40:30 here, and retail shops start from Rs 24.95 lakh. The Group also has offers at Aerocity commercial plots at Gaur Yamuna City; apart from 12% on investment, other offers include a car on every booking, free registry, 100% ground coverage, and construction approval up to 9 FAR.

Gulshan Group is offering various amenities for free on the booking of ready-to-move-in 2 BHK apartments at Gulshan Botnia, Sector 144, Noida Expressway. The amenities include one open car parking, 1 KVA power backup, club membership, one time lease rent, wardrobes in every bedroom, modular kitchen and hob.

Signature Global is offering a 20 gm gold on booking in Signature Global City 81, 92; in Signature Global City 37D, the Group is offering Rs 51000 cashback, and it is giving a modular kitchen in Signature Global Park, Sector 36, South Gurugram.

In Gurugram, Spaze Group is offering ‘Double Monthly Income’ offer in its ready-to-move-in commercial properties where investment starts from Rs 50 lakh onwards; under the offer, Spaze is providing 9% rental from the developer in addition to the actual rent from the brand. “During the festival season, we anticipate a strong buyer and investor turnout; the market has opened up, and people are seeking good offers. The decline of April-May 2021, which was already visible from June 2021 onwards, will be covered up in the next months,” says Aman Sharma, Director Spaze Towers Pvt Ltd.

SKA Group is offering assured gold coin with every booking at their project SKA Metro Ville in Greater Noida where 2/3 BHK apartments start from Rs 30.55 lakh; the project is ready for possession before time. Migsun Group has come up with a campaign, ‘Move in India’ where they are offering rock bottom prices in various projects starting from Rs 2795 per sq ft; projects under the scheme include Wynne (Greater Noida), Vilaasa (Greater Noida), Ultimo(Greater Noida), Golf Suites (Greater Noida), Kiaan (Vasundhara, Ghaziabad), Roof (Raj Nagar Extn, Ghaziabad).

Hero Homes projects in Ludhiana and Mohali have 'Spin the Wheel' contest. The smart payment plan at Hero Homes Mohali project is divided in the ratio of 25:25:25:25, and it comes with smart offerings such as occupancy sensor lights, digital main door lock, app-based light, fan & Ac controls and other smart technology elements. The Hero Homes Ludhiana project is also giving away a home decor voucher of around Rs 2 lakh during festive times.

A leading developer in the Punjab, Sushma Group came up with the offer to pay the rent of the buyers until possession. The Group has this offer in 14 of their residential projects, which have possession time between three to 15 months. The Group feels that this will ease out the 6-8 month pre-possession period for the buyers as they will not be subject to the double burden of rent and EMI.

Throwing light on their offer, Prateek Mittal, Executive Director, Sushma Group, said, “We have seen many people end the search as they are afraid of paying the rent and EMIs simultaneously. We have encountered many customers who were in a dilemma as they eagerly wanted to buy, but the financial obligations stopped them. The situation made us think of out-of-the-box and come out with an initiative that would empower the customers to make the buying decision; then, we came up with the idea of paying their rent till possession. We are getting a good response so far.”

Bhumika Group is offering 30% revenue sharing or 6% assured rental at Urban Suites serviced apartments in Udaipur; the investment here starts from Rs 34 lakh. “Even though the second wave was more harmful to humanity than the first, it implanted in them the desire to look for a secure life. It reflected in the real estate sector, where sales began in June 2021; the change in mindset benefited every real estate segment for reasons unique to that segment. The festival season will increase sales even further, and we expect real estate to be much closer to pre-COVID levels,” says Uddhav Poddar, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bhumika Group.

The demand has exceeded the supply in the whole Delhi NCR market, which indicates that the propensity of a good project to get lapped up by the buyers is high. After accessing the situation, the developers have also increased the number of new launches to capture the market momentum. The real estate sector has had a considerable comeback in recent quarters, which has kept stakeholders optimistic about the future.