Residential realty sales bounce back with 40-50% growth in 2nd quarter

Residential realty sales bounce back with 40-50% growth in 2nd quarter
The Financial Express, December 15, 2009, Page 12

Mona Mehta, Mumbai

Top builders witnessed a growth of 40-50% in sales of residential ready-possession and under-construction properties across metros during the second quarter of the current fiscal. There has also been a rise of about 5-10% in resale registration of residential apartments amidst the recovery in stock markets and the positive consumer sentiments, according to industry experts.

The residential real estate sector started picking up from July after a lull until June, and has bounced back with a good rise in demand. However, genuine buying is being seen only if builders offer practical rates which offer value for money, and not hike rates to unrealistic levels. With the move, experts feel the growth in sales of residential real estate, which constitutes 80% of the overall real estate market, is poised to gain momentum in the third and the fourth quarters.

Ambar Maheshwari, head—investment advisory, DTZ International Property Advisers said, “During the second quarter, there has been a 5% rise in the number of registrations for resale apartments across metros, especially in Mumbai and Delhi. Developers have been successful in doing so because they have reshaped the resale model to suit per-apartment pricing. End-buyers, who had earlier preferred to buy three to four-bedroom apartments, are now looking at buying two-bedroom apartments.”

After selling 316 residential apartments in Delhi and Gurgaon during the first two quarters, Delhi-based Raheja Developers now hope to sell approximately 1,500 apartments in the Delhi-NCR region. Harinder Dhillon, vice-president, marketing, Raheja Developers Limited, says, “We sold 316 apartments largely on account of just one new relatively small-size project launch and finishing sales of older projects which we had in first half of 2009-10. The second half will witness at least four new project launches and we expect to sell about 1,500 apartments in this period in Delhi and NCR.”

Mumbai-based Royal Palms India witnessed a 300% jump in residential real estate sales, both in the ready-possession and under-construction segments. Dilawar Nensey, joint managing director, Royal Palms India, said, “Overall, in the Mumbai real estate sector, the growth has been about 50% during the second quarter of 2009-10. We expect this trend to continue for the coming quarters as the recession in India is over and consumer demand across industries is picking up”. Nensey also added, “While our sales in Q1 were negligible, during Q2 we sold over 750 residential apartments in the affordable-housing category. We have on offer another 750 apartments, which we expect to sell during the current fiscal. This reflects a massive growth over the corresponding period in the previous year, in which apartment sales were affected by the slowdown.”

Ahmedabad is also poised to prosper in real estate terms, feel industry experts. Talking about Gujarat, Ashutosh Limaye, associate director – strategic consulting, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj JLLM, said, “There is a lot of thrust on infrastructure development. Gujarat is perhaps the only state that puts infrastructure first and then effects planned development. The state government development agencies for urban development and city administrations play an important role in overall development, including real estate. Also, industrial development has helped Gujarat to emerge as a prime SEZ and industrial location.”

Godrej Properties which has real estate projects in 10 cities is strongly focusing on developing a mixed-used development project, spread across 330 acre. Adi Godrej, chairman, Godrej Group, said, “Residential real estate segment has recovered and is doing exceedingly well.” Places in South India, especially Bangalore and Mysore, apart from Chennai and Kerala, have started witnessing residential and retail developments by top builders from markets in the South, West and East.