Tag: Raman Gupta

Business World

Tier II cities on Township radar

May 4, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Director, #GBP Group, #Raman Gupta

By Raman Gupta, Director, GBP Group

The stage is set for tier-II and tier-III cities to witness the idea of Integrated Townships, with the National Capital Region (NCR) being extended to include several more close-by towns in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The amount of real estate investment in tier II cities has increased over the last few years. By 2030, India is expected to have 104 Tier-II cities and just 155 Tier-I cities. The figure alone foreshadows the growth of Tier-II cities in the future. Finally, increased economic growth, infrastructure development, and the benefit of lower real estate prices and a lower cost of living are all driving up residential demand in these cities.

People would want to enjoy the luxuries of modern living, such as plush markets, schools, hospitals, and entertainment facilities, all in one complex, particularly in the aftermath of COVID-19. These ‘prime’ cities are already attracting major developers from across the country. In the current scenario, the increase in demand for homes is leaning toward features that resolve health and safety issues; this is addressed in integrated townships by providing a controlled living environment to the residents.

Reasonable land prices, a lack of organized living options, and the migration of working professionals, among other factors, could reignite demand in cities such as Chandigarh and Ludhiana. The acceleration in demand appears certain, with home loan interest rates at record lows and government subsidies for home buyers. Significant real estate projects are expected in towns and cities with populations of 0.5 to one million people. Residential markets in tier-II and tier-III cities have seen increased demand, which is expected to continue following the Corona scare.

The availability of relatively cheaper real estate options is one reason for these cities’ emergence as viable options. The rapidly expanding IT-ITES industry, entrenched in the major metros, is also moving towards Tier-II cities as rising real estate costs and overburdened infrastructure in Tier-I cities pose problems for IT-ITES companies.

Today, well-known developers branch out outside their conventional holdings, and Tier-II cities provide them with the best opportunities. Townships allow developers to provide high-quality planned urban lifestyles at affordable prices. The success of Integrated Townships in these cities is because the majority of the colonies are poorly constructed or unregulated, resulting in hardships such as poor sewerage, insufficient electricity, and security concerns.

In addition, the government’s announcement that it will invest in infrastructure over the next five years was a blessing in disguise for Tier-II cities. The announcement addresses the most significant aspect of real estate: infrastructure growth, which contributes to a thriving real estate sector. The announcement allowed the long-standing question about the exodus of people from smaller cities to larger cities to be addressed. Due to the operating costs in larger cities, the development would result in job creation and the relocation of MNCs to these cities.

Business World

GBP Group plans to bring multiple real estate projects in Punjab

Apr 30, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Branding & Construction, #Director, #GBP Group, #Raman Gupta

One of the most trusted developers of the Tricity region, GBP Group has been relentlessly working to change the face of real estate in Punjab. The Group has plans to deliver 20 lacs sq ft residential and 10 lacs sq ft commercial by 2022. The total investment in all the projects would be around Rs 1600 crore.

The group has a futuristic project in the commercial segment called Centrum, a versatile project by GBP Group that will become Tricity’s third-largest commercial space slated for completion by Dec-2022. The upcoming commercial space offers a wide range of inventory in retail shops, Multiplex, Soho, Office spaces, studios, hotels, banquet halls, and food courts.

The group has also ventured into providing residential plots at GBP Smart City in Mohali. The cost of this project is 100 crore and will be funded through promoter funding and bank loan. The plots are close to Airport Chowk, the epicenter of bustling activities, and an upcoming four-lane expressway is slated to be fully functional in a year; apart from this Kharar-Ambala has all the amenities to have a fine livability quotient. Aerocity and IT City are nearby two ambitious commercial projects that will be providing the residents with an array of options in retail, entertainment, and recreation when fully operational.

Overall, the Group is planning to launch five new projects this year, two commercial and three residential, in areas like Peer Muchalla, Airport Road, New Chandigarh, Derabassi, and Mohali extension. The three months post lockdown saw GBP Group selling 295 units, which corresponds to around Rs 200 crore of business. The units were in Camellia in Kharar (90), Athens (100 units) in Zirakpur, Techtown (30) in Mohali, Centrum (30) in Zirakpur, and Dera Bassi (45).

Elaborating more on the vision of the group, Raman Gupta, Director, Branding & construction, GBP Group, said, “We are very positive with our delivery timelines, it is only possible due to the support from our associated stakeholders. The lockdown has established multiple trends in the real estate sector, it is only a matter of time that some of them would stay. Customer preferences have changed to a great extent, real estate is increasingly being viewed as an investment opportunity by a large section of buyers, this was not the case in pre-COVID times. The prevalent market scenario is also motivating for the buyers to enter into a real estate agreement. Our efforts remain to offer a real estate development for the distinct sections of buyers through our multiple projects.”

News

Mid-segment ruled 2020, will continue the run in 2021

Jan 4, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Ajnara India, #Ashok Gupta, #CEO, #CMD, #Director (Branding and construction), #GBP Group, #Mohit Goel, #Omaxe Ltd., #Raman Gupta, #says, #TDI Infratech Ltd, #Vice President of Sales & Leasing (commercial), #Vimal Monga

Unlike expectations, 2020 turned out to be a fair year for the real estate sector as it negated the highly detrimental predictions. In the end, the year witnessed a sale of around Rs 90,000 crore in the first three quarters in seven major cities as against around Rs 1,50,000 crore in the same period in 2019. The maximum sale was achieved in the mid-segment as the price range below Rs 70 lakh was in maximum demand during the year. The ease-out in home loan interest rates triggered the much-needed revival, which is expected to improve further in the coming year.

Though the year saw a decline in sales by almost 40-45% compared to the previous year, it has to be seen in light of the economic crisis arising from the global pandemic. Mohit Goel, CEO, Omaxe Ltd., says, “The overhang of subdued demand from last quarter of 2019 continued into 2020, and with the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown in March, the sector went from bad to worse. The migration of labours and disruption in the supply of raw materials saw a stoppage in construction activities. On the back of government stimulus and RBI’s liquidity measures, there was some uptick in demand post the partial opening of the economy.”

Nevertheless, the positives that have emerged from the COVID-19 crisis will form the cornerstone of the coming decades of growth in the real estate sector and overall Indian economy, Goel adds. Talking about the year ahead, he says, “The increased investment in infrastructure development by governments and businesses in developing tier 2/3 cities as centres of economic activity along with increased consumer spending and activity will write the story of growth, employment and opportunities in the coming decades in India.”

Majorly driven by the mid-segment, major cities’ housing sales value saw a significant jump over pre-COVID-19 levels. Chennai saw almost 3.5 times jump in Q3 2020, NCR recording a jump of more than 150%, Hyderabad went up by 152%, MMR witnessed an increase of 145% over the previous quarter, Pune saw 125% increase, Kolkata witnessed 121% jump, and Bangalore saw an increase of 81%. Throwing light on 2020, Ankit Kansal, Co-Founder & MD, 360 Realtors, says, “As the Black Swain event spread like wildfire, markets started staggering, with a drastic slowdown in sales. The industry showed some limited manoeuvring with embracing the digital medium. The repo rate cuts and liquidity infusion by the government were also helpful as it reduced home loan rates. The developer fraternity also introduced attractive payment plans to arrest any steep decline in sentiments. Once the lockdown was suspended, markets started reviving, despite a slowdown in business activities weighing on the overall economy. Finally, in the last quarter, the previous year’s growth numbers were restored, and the industry reached near normalcy. The euphoria that started with the festive season should lead up to year-end, clocking a 75-85% quarterly growth in sales.”

Though starting with challenging times, 2020 is ending with many positives for the real estate sector. This is the year when home loan interest rates got reduced to a 15-year low, and steps were announced to help stuck projects and liquidity issues, says Vimal Monga, Vice President of Sales & Leasing (commercial), TDI Infratech Ltd, adding that “The year also witnessed the movement of people towards tier II and III cities, thereby increasing the scope of real estate far and wide. The coming year will see an increasing demand owing to the people’s likeness for gated communities post-COVID-19. In 2021, we will also see interest in well-planned commercial developments as the requirement of malls and office spaces will go up.”

Saying that the reverse migration among the working professionals from metros and NRI’s lead to increase in demand of property in Tier II and tier III cities, Raman Gupta, Director (Branding and construction), GBP Group, adds, “When it comes to analyzing the northern region, Tricity and its peripheries witnessed an upsurge laying the foundation for a market that is going to grow exponentially from here. The year 2021 promises favourable returns, as people’s lifestyle will change drastically after overcoming the pandemic effects. Residential spaces that promise holistic living, unique amenities, an ideal location would become the epitome of an ideal home. We will be witnessing a wave of tech-based innovations, apart from the construction technologies which will be evolving the traditional sector of real estate further.”

Drawing conclusion from the renewed interest of buyers in 2020, Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India, says, “The buyers in NCR are likely to see more number of housing units hitting the market in 2021. Around 6 lakh units were launched in the region from 2013 to 2020, and only 30 per cent have been completed till now. With the focus of developers in NCR on project delivery, many mid-segment units will be up for grab. The market in 2021 definitely looks promising as the measures taken by the Government to boost buyer sentiment will start showing result starting from Q1 2021.”

Business World

Unchanged repo rate, Realtors rely on high consumer confidence

Oct 10, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Amit Jain, #Harvinder Singh Singh Sikka, #kushagr ansal, #Rajat Goel, #Raman Gupta, #Realtors, #Vikas Bhasin

The RBI today kept the repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged at 4% and 3.35% respectively. The Apex Bank also announced on-tap TLTRO for Rs 1 trillion at 4% till March 2021 and will conduct OMO worth Rs 20,000 crore next week. The RBI governor also announced that the RBI will take steps that will infuse liquidity to improve financial conditions. With the optimism of RBI for a strong rebound of the GDP and inflation to ease to projected target by Q4 of FY’21, real estate sector too is upbeat about economic growth. Prateek Mittal, Executive Director, Sushma Group, said, “At this time when the buyers are seeking stable investment options, real estate sector with low-interest rates emerges as the safest investment proposition and the all-time low repo rate is adding impetus to the same.”

Uddhav Poddar, MD, Bhumika Group & Founding Member, SCAI, said, “The real estate sector is badly affected due to the pandemic, and it needs support from the banks. One of the biggest issue with some of the realtors is the liquidity issue, and we hope RBI will address it as it has announced to take steps to ease liquidity. One of the announcements that are beneficial for the sector is that the new housing loans to be linked to LTV only. We hope that the buyers will take advantage of the situation and realize their dream of owning a home.”

The realtors feel that the RBI should have made some announcement to improve liquidity in the real estate sector, as many developers are facing the heat after COVID-19 led to complete shutdown of operations. Nagaraju Routhu, CEO, Hero Realty, said, “Decision of the RBI to keep repo rates unchanged is along expected lines. RBI’s commentary on the economy gives hope for the revival of the real estate sector in the coming quarters. The sector, however, needs handholding by the Government and the RBI to tide over this difficult period. Measures to boost liquidity for the sector are urgently needed. The optimism about economic growth cannot ignore the needs of the common man who is still in ‘cautious spending’ mode. The good part is that the real estate sector is getting attention by the buyers as they have realized the safety of real estate asset, but they do look towards sops from the government that can help them in realizing their dream of owning a home.”

Ashish Bhutani, MD & CEO, Bhutani Infra, said, “The bank should have taken into consideration the need for liquidity. The apex bank has also talked about improving liquidity in the market, which will have a direct bearing on the real estate too. Like the RBI we too are optimistic about the economic growth. Having said that we were hoping for announcements that can specifically talk about various sectors and how banks are going to help improve growth. However, we are upbeat as the consumer sentiment is high, especially after they witnessed the brittle nature of other investment vehicles as against real estate.”

Saying that the decision to keep the repo & reverse repo rate unchanged underpins the accommodative policy by the government alongside reining the inflation rate, Ankit Kansal, Founder & MD, 360 Realtors, pointed out “This should have an overall positive impact on the recovering Indian Real Estate industry as the accommodative stance should plug-in the liquidity crunch in the market. Likewise, managing inflation will control the cost. At the same time, the RBI has announced a sharp GDP decline of 9.5% for FY 21, which is in line with what has been predicted by most of the major international & domestic rating agencies. Now all eyes would be on how the government plans to combat the economic slowdown and boost demand. A host of steps in the form of capital injection, refinancing of banking institutions, policy impetus, subsidies, and discounts are required to see a faster recovery.”

Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman – Signature Global Group & Chairman – ASSOCHAM National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development, was of the view that “It was an expected move by the RBI to keep the repo rate unchanged, and it is commendable that it is doing its part to ensure that the economy stays on the right path. Loan on LTV will be helpful for the real estate sector, and it will help them get more loan amount.”

Abhishek Bansal, Executive Director, Pacific Group, said, “The real estate market has started picking up as people are enjoying the low-interest rates and subdued pricing. The sector is also enjoying the fruits of the changed mindset of people towards owning a real estate asset, be it for living or earning extra income. The safety of real estate investment that came to the fore will gain steam during the festival season as fence-sitters too will come out in great numbers.”

Maintaining that the real estate sector is enjoying the fruits of high consumer confidence, Yash Miglani, MD, Migsun Group, said, “We were expecting the repo rate to remain unchanged, and the decision of the RBI will have no impact on the sector in the current scenario. In the latest announcement, the provision of housing loan to be linked with LTV is going to help the buyers, and hence the sector will see more sales.”

While saying that he understands the reasons for keeping the repo rate unchanged Harvinder Singh Singh Sikka, MD, Sikka Group, added “One favourable measure for the real estate in the latest announcement by the RBI is that the new housing loans will be linked on to loan to value (LTV). It will help the buyers get loans easily and realize their dream of buying a home. The buyers are already coming back to the sector and the coming festival season would be a lot better than the previous years.”

Agreeing with others Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing & President, CREDAI Haryana, said, “The decision of the RBI to keep the new housing loans only to loan to value will encourage more buyers to come forward. The real estate market was looking good after the Unlock, and this particular step will make more fence-sitters to decide on buying a home. Apart from that, the good sign is that the apex bank is optimistic about economic growth. The measures that the RBI took in the last few months are showing a positive impact, and we hope that the latest decisions will help the economy recover faster.”

Raman Gupta, Director- Branding & Construction, GBP Group, was of the view that “It was an expected move to keep the economy on its path to revival after being hit by Covid-19. Over the past few months, people have realized the importance of owning a home and at this time when people are adjusting to the new normal, they have been seen exploring the stable investment options and real estate is topping the chart. The low-interest rates and onset of the festive season will bring cheers to the real estate sector. Apart from keeping the repo rate at as low as 4 pc, RBI has also announced that it is ready to take steps that will infuse liquidity to improve financial conditions and we are looking forward to its positive impact on the recovering Indian Real Estate sector.”

Rajat Goel, JMD MRG World, said, “RBI has kept the repo rate unchanged at 4% and reverse repo rate at 3.35%, during its recent announcement with the prediction of GDP decline about 9.5% for FY 21, which is on similar lines with the prediction from rating agencies. Affordable housing segment has seen a good number of enquiries from end-users amid the uncertain market conditions which is a sign of positivity. Apart from this, RBI’s decision to take steps for infusing liquidity remain awaited, which will prominently affect the overall sentiment of real estate sector.

Amit Jain, Managing Director, Mahagun Group, said, “The announcement was on the expected lines; the good thing is that the RBI looked optimistic about the economic growth, which is a good sign. Real estate sector has already started witnessing positive growth and is speedily recovering from the loss of lockdown. The momentum is picking up pace in this festival season as buyers are enjoying low home loan interest rates.”

Vikas Bhasin, CMD, Saya Homes, said, “We are optimistic that the measures announced by the RBI will help revive economic growth. Multiple announcements were made that will help other industries to go on a growth trajectory; this will have an indirect impact on real estate growth too as the sector is susceptible to economic changes. However, after the Unlock, the real estate is on a high note as people swarmed real estate sites to get hold of a property.”

Business World

GBP comes up with mega residential & commercial township, Central Town in Zirakpur

Sep 22, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Central Town in Zirakpur, #GBP Group, #Raman Gupta, #Zirakpur

Chandigarh: GBP Group, one of the top builders in Punjab, announced its township project Central Town in Zirakpur spread over 32 acres. With a total outlay of Rs 600 crores, funded partially through internal accruals and partially through banks funding and sales, the township will have residential units, plots and commercial complexes. The low rise project will have 700-800 residential units including 2 & 3 BHK S+3 independent floors and luxury villas, and 400 plots ranging from 100 to 213 sq. yards.

Built over an area of 11 acres the commercial complex will comprise of 250 showrooms, i.e. total 750 lower ground, ground and first-floor units. It is the first time that GBP is coming up with plotting in the region; the total built-up area of the project would be around 15 lakh sq. ft. besides plotting. The group plans to give possession of plots within 6-9 months, residential units within 2-3 years, commercial units in 18-24 months.

Group proposes to develop the commercial complex as the hub of food joints, clubs, restaurants, bars, banks, wellness clinics, etc for catering to around 20,000 neighbourhood population and more than 3 lac population in 10 minutes of the vicinity. The commercial complex is equipped with ample parking which has been missing from Zirakpur shopping experience since long.

Group is also upbeat about the size of the project, which is one of the attractions in the region where societies are in 4-8 acres because of the high land prices. Planned to have all the facilities, the township is planned meticulously keeping in mind the present and future needs of the people. Another added advantage of the project is that it is well connected in three ways – it is near the main highway, then 200 ft. wide international airport road connects it to Shimla and Haryana, thirdly it is connected to Panchkula.

Over the years, Zirakpur has been in the limelight owing to the affordable pricing it enjoys as compared to the neighbouring areas. With this township project, GBP Group plans to be the first mover in the region which is coming up with a project to meet all the needs of the growing population of the region.

“In the surrounding areas of Chandigarh, prices are three times as compared to prices in Zirakpur. The population growth of Zirakpur is 3.5% annually as compared to the nearby regions’ population growth of 2.5%. So there is a huge upcoming requirement of real estate in this area. Central Town is in the heart of the city with the most approachable location near National Ambala Highway and in between Peer Muchalla, Sector 20, Panchkula,” says Raman Gupta, Director – Branding & Construction, GBP Group.

Talking about the real estate market in the country, Gupta says, “Real estate market was going through a tough phase in the last three years but 2021 is going to be wonderful. Demand and supply have already been settled in all these years, and looking at the limited supply even the stuck projects will do well as banks are coming up with funding schemes such as SWAMIH fund, and stress funds.”