Tag: Sheth Creators

Business

Luxury comes in small sizes – Emphasis on plush 1 BHK’s

Jun 24, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Director - Marketing, #Ms. Hiral Sheth, #Sheth Creators

By Ms. Hiral Sheth Gandhi, Director – Marketing, Sheth Creators

The residential luxury segment presently has been witnessing a diversity in terms of the market dynamics, owing to the anticipations from target end-user segment. While owning a prime piece of residential asset has long been considered as a matter of pride for home owners, the modern housing culture has led to a fundamental alteration in the consumption of real estate. This has thrown the spotlight on various noteworthy trends. One such burgeoning housing preference that has been brimming the real estate map is micro homes or compact residencies with plush amenities. These homes are gradually gaining traction due to the rapid rise of population and space crunch in the metropolitan cities. With increasing housing rents and residential real estate becoming expensive over the years, home buyers are more inclined towards opting for spaces that are smaller in size for instance 1 BHKs with plush features that fall well within their budget.

Ms. Hiral Sheth Gandhi, Director- Marketing, Sheth Creators
Ms. Hiral Sheth Gandhi, Director- Marketing, Sheth Creators

With a strategic rise in the population of nuclear families in India, the trend of compact homes has been extending energy in the country’s real estate markets. A compact home comprises a hall, bedroom, study, and a kitchen with washrooms and a balcony. These houses vary in configurations from 500 sq. ft. to 800 sq. ft., well-suited to meet the requirements of a small family. Compact Living is convincingly smart living, where build space is limited, yet the quality of amenities and design remain high. It has become more common in cities like Mumbai, where space comes at a premium price. It has been researched that in Tier 1 cities, where land is minimum and property valuations are steep, the concept of smaller homes with luxury amenities has scaled up a lot. This has augured well for the developer community who are in approval of launching small-sized apartments that not only lessen the cost but are also space-efficient to placate the distinctive home buyer requirements.

Below mentioned are reasons making smaller homes with luxury amenities one of the sought-after trends in real estate:

Significance of homeownership: In the backdrop of the pandemic, the modified consumer behaviour patterns have witnessed reluctance in the home buyer’s preference towards renting. However, what remains unaffected is the affordability factor in the midst of the unstable job market. The community of investors who once upon a time showed more preference towards renting spaces have today comprehended the importance of owning a home particularly in times of such unprecedented crisis. With the value of other financial assets having dropped down post the crisis, they have understood the importance of owning a real estate asset. Post the pandemic consumers have turned cautious and are discovering various residential options in the market to undertake investment. Quality-conscious and discerning consumers are now keen on upsizing their purchase and scouting for plush budget-friendly homes without compromising on the luxury of space. Homes with plush bedrooms or an additional study with wellness amenities are becoming the current choice as against their pre-pandemic preferences. This has pushed up the demand for affordable luxury housing.

Increasing preference from NRI’s and HNI’s: These segments of buyers are all set to reflect the changing dynamics in the Indian property segment, from being mere investors to future end-users. With the sense that real estate valuations might start moving upwards sooner and that luxury housing wouldn’t be as affordable as it is now, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and non-resident Indians (NRIs) have started untying their purse strings. These buyers are now making use of the tail end of the economic slowdown to make investments in homes that are offering occupants with far greater utility. Instead of capitalizing in the most luxurious properties, they are putting their funds in smaller projects that they can sell quickly or use on their own. Instead of parking their funds in plush residencies, NRI’s returning to India are favouring to invest in smaller homes, thus saving their finances to start a business as a source of livelihood. These self-employed segments of buyers, prefer to have an asset portfolio of diverse projects, instead of putting their money in large developments. They prefer to divide their funds among various small projects, which permits them to sell easily if they want to, or earn good rental from their various investments. Furthermore, the fall of the Indian rupee has encouraged NRIs to invest in India’s property markets. An improved regulatory regime also provides greater confidence among them to invest in India. So, the number of leads from this segment has risen substantially.

Small is the new big: The heightened demand for smaller homes with lavish amenities is a clear indication of the fact that luxury does come in small sizes too. This is an essential shift from the trend which played out during the pre-pandemic phase, where consumers would opt for smaller units in affordable valuations in and around the city and suburbs. Although this shift will continue, spaces coupled with upgraded need-of-the-hour amenities are now the top-of-mind considerations for an average homebuyer. With the nationwide lockdown having pulled temporary shutters for fitness centres, sports complexes, jogging tracks, theatres, and parks, customers are opting to buy well-planned residences that offers such lifestyle and leisure amenities. While affordability still remains the crux of home investment, investors today want high-quality compact units with exceptional self-contained amenities. In this context, luxury micro homes are being preferred since they provide for the maximum utilisation of available space, design acumen, and comfort.

The heightened demand for ‘jewel-box’ homes with a relatively small footprint or square footage, but packed with luxury finishes will top real estate charts in the post-pandemic epoch.

Business World

Small homes make way for more launches

Apr 22, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Director - Marketing, #Hiral Sheth Gandhi, #Sheth Creators

By Hiral Sheth Gandhi, Director – Marketing, Sheth Creators

Small ticket-size homes or micro homes are gaining acceptance in the Indian realty markets due to the speedy expansion of the city’s geographical boundaries and the rise of population in urban India. The pandemic-enforced realization about homeownership has been accountable to spur this revival. The millennial community in particular who has always laid emphasis on an upgraded lifestyle rather than prioritizing aspects like home investments are gradually turning towards cost-effective homes fitting well into their budget.

Realty developers across property markets are aligning their apartment configurations and supply with the budget ranges being dictated by the demand. These residencies with smaller configurations are making way for more launches by reducing average apartment size, thus bringing down the property valuation.

Ms. Hiral Sheth, Director - Marketing, Sheth Creators
Ms. Hiral Sheth, Director – Marketing, Sheth Creators

With existing players scaling up their plans, the segment has also witnessed luxury real estate developers with premium projects venturing into this segment. This trend of launching the right kind of supply at the appropriate price is becoming a game-changer for the real estate industry. With a sustained increase in property prices in the last couple of years, the affordability quotient of home buyers has been challenged. This situation tends to continue in-spite of facilitating government measures like low home loan interest rates and stamp duty and repo rate cut. With altered configurations, developers can enhance the efficiency by staying focussed on the consumer requisites. The demand for compact-sized homes is all set to turn the government’s vision of ‘Housing for All by 2022’ into reality.

Dynamics that have heightened the demand for micro homes: 

Location of the property: With metropolitan cities expanding there has alongside been an increase in the establishment of civic and social infrastructure. Nonetheless, a majority of the population favour’s residing in the heart of the city, for various reasons, such as seamless connectivity, accessibility to social and cultural facilities and proximity to workplace and schools. With the cost of the property being a major factor in such locations, families tend to have a preference to capitalize in micro homes. Smaller unit dimensions also call for effective space management, which is the current real estate preference.

The upswing in nuclear clans: In the contemporary culture, nuclear families with an evolved decision making as far as home buying is concerned, seems to be the order of the day. The size of such families being small, the space prerequisite tends to become less as compared to a joint family. In addition to nuclear families, working singles, or retired seniors, are also probable buyers for micro or compact studio homes.

Smart Spacing in Homes: A larger share of today’s fast-paced generation prefers homes that are easy to maintain and clean. Fortunately, living contentedly is a possibility with smart optimization of space in a small home and beautifying the interior without missing out on making it contented by using ideas that make the most of the existing space. Besides getting rid of a couple of things, some smart space optimization ideas can turn out to be beneficial. In a small apartment, you will want to keep most of your belongings, but in a way that it doesn’t look cluttered. An apartment without some free space doesn’t look like a home, but a store. That’s why beautifying to also maximise the space and using practical and straightforward interior design ideas to enhance the available space is vital.

Luxury micro-homes on the rise: Luxury micro-housing, tend to provide for an all-out utilisation of available space, design acumen, and comfort. Buyers these days prefer high-quality compact units, with no compromise on the amenities, and hence are keen on opting for developments with all the lifestyle-centric facilities and good connectivity. Even for high-end residential investors, these boutique luxury flats have an appeal, due to its location, fiscal feasibility, and comfort.

It has been researched that more than half of the residential sales, over the past couple of years have come from the segment of homes with smaller ticket-size. The intervention of the government through incentives and SOPs benefitting the developers and buyers have proved to be a catalyst facilitating the right supply and demand. With expectations from the upcoming Union Budget 2021-2022 that the government must extend infrastructure status to the overall sector, will further boost low-cost housing.

While the inherent demand in this segment is virtually limitless, but it needs to be tapped intelligently to facilitate in making way for more mass home launches. The heightened demand in this segment is a clear indication that small size and the right price bode well for the country’s real estate segment.

Business World

‘Rationalisation in pricing, low interest rates – how will real estate reinvent itself in 2021’

Mar 11, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Director - Marketing, #Hiral Sheth Gandhi, #Sheth Creators

By Ms. Hiral Sheth Gandhi, Director- Marketing, Sheth Creators

The festive quarter that ended in December saw a robust sale of homes being inked across major cities. This happy end to the calendar year was preceded by eight months of turmoil in a pandemic where property sales touched a new low.

The record sale of homes or residential units as the real estate industry calls it, came on the back of all-time low interest rates and attractive sops in the form of limited period stamp duty reductions. A report by Knight Frank India in December said that this whopping 60% reduction in stamp duty by the Maharashtra Government saw the registration of residential properties in Mumbai jump over two-fold in December to 18,854 units.

Ms. Hiral Sheth, Director - Marketing, Sheth Creators
Ms. Hiral Sheth Gandhi, Director- Marketing, Sheth Creators

Paradigm Shift

As we enter 2021, the momentum of historic sales could slow a bit but will remain strong to narrate a positive story.  Unlike the past year, the real estate sector is now picking up with homebuyers willing to make the move. With most workers displaced during the lockdown now back, construction sites are slowly brimming with activity and work is moving at a faster pace to fulfil commitments.

In Mumbai, there are a lot of properties which were unsold, but ready to move in, with no GST to be paid because occupation certificates were already issued that have also helped home buyers look at real estate proactively and as an investment for their money’s worth.

The demand for residential property has in fact also been guided by the concept of work from home – as families are now looking out for an upgrade as individual space becomes a crucial factor.

Mumbai: Western Suburbs Top

Housing projects in Western Suburban Mumbai is now literally the jewel in the crown for Mumbai’s real estate market. If property registrations are anything to go by, the Western Suburbs especially in the Goregaon – Malad region saw maximum registrations. Some media reported that 35% of the total 39,500 properties registered between September and December were in these areas.

The increased demand for lifestyle real estate products is evident from the high-end units on sale in the Western Suburbs of Mumbai. The real estate development taking place in this part of Mumbai are all high-rise residential towers and not restricted to small buildings in view of better FSI that is available to suburban Mumbai.

If fact, this availability of a better lifestyle real estate property in the Suburbs has seen people move from South Mumbai. Their ask for a better price and better location is being met here.

Pricing factor and low interest rates

As per a global house price index report of Knight Frank which has tracked mainstream residential prices across 56 countries and territories worldwide, India slipped seven spots to rank 54th in the July-September period of 2020. The report also puts the year-on-year decline in property prices at 2.4%.

On the back of rationalisation of pricing, the real estate market is seeing a surge in demand that will continue through the New Year. What the sector is witnessing at present is the demand to upgrade homes. Property with better quality, convenience, better facilities and having an own home instead of renting a space. Both the pricing and low interest rates have helped give wind to this demand that we foresee to continue in 2021.

Real Estate: On a Path of Reinvention

The real estate as a sector is like a cog in the wheel driving India’s economy. Infrastructure development and housing are major players known to be crucial in reviving a countries economy in recession. In India, about 15% of the total jobs are generated by the real estate sector. Add to this all the ancillary industries that cater to building homes – cement, steel, aluminium and the like.

The sector in 2021 will have to adopt innovative ways of dealing with requirements. While homes will continue to be sold, they will now be done with creative disruption. This reinvention will include technology playing a lead role in meeting altered norms being considered by home buyers.

While the fallout of the pandemic cannot be written off, urbanisation has to continue and the real estate market will return with renewed steam in the near future. This return of sales in 2021 displays a surge in demand among the middle-income and upper-middle-income groups as they get ready to buy their dream homes in a year that has started off on a good note with the sector and overall economy looking up to a stimulus vaccine shot.

News

Stamp Duty Cuts, Low Interest Rates Pave the Path for Real Estate Growth

Jan 4, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #By - Ms. Hiral Sheth, #Director - Marketing, #Sheth Creators

By – Ms. Hiral Sheth, Director – Marketing, Sheth Creators

Real estate has been reeling under a slowdown for the last few years, thanks to the indirect impact of many policy changes and lack of implementing many more that has been repeatedly requested by the developer fraternity. This year the world was affected by Covid-19 pandemic, where real estate was unarguably the most suitable investment product. The pandemic depicted in India and the whole world that at the time of crisis, it is real estate which stands rock solid as an investment as compared to other asset classes and thus the segment started to show growth.

The Forward Step

The upward curve of the segment sets off in Q2FY21 and this has been consistently growing, breaking the jinx of all these years. In fact, all through the nationwide lockdown implemented, realty transactions continued to happen virtually. This positive development can be attributed to reasons like the RBI pumping liquidity in the segment, increased significance of home ownership among the buyers, deferred payment scheme in favor of RTMI properties and the sales incurred during festive season. The home buyer’s comprehension that capitalizing in real estate is the most secure long-term investment in a fluctuated market has also created a strong base for the sector to grow. Apart from these welcome measures, one of the biggest catalysts for real estate sales is the stamp duty cut, slashing of repo rates and an all-time low interest rates on home loans.

Stamp duty rate cuts

It is no secret that many potential home buyers are fence sitters owing to the huge financial obligation involved in property buying. In addition to paying the down payment and availing of home loans where one would be paying an EMI every month, fringe charges like registration charges, stamp duty charges, etc. hurt home buyers by shaking up their entire budget, especially now when the entire world is battling a pandemic. Any respite in these charges is a big relief and gives a push of confidence to the customer. Aptly understood by the Maharashtra government, stamp duty reduction from 5 per cent to 2 per cent in this state has been a game changer. The same will become 3 per cent from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021.  The results of this slash were to be seen immediately with Mumbai recording registrations that increased significantly. Similarly, Pune’s property market has been witnessing healthy green shoots which has brightened the hope for better real estate sales for the upcoming quarters. Pune has now recorded sales of 9,412 units, which is a significant jump from the 5,503 sales the city had registered in the second quarter. The recovery of pent up property demand coupled with proactive government measures like lowering of stamp duty have been the main reasons for the cities bullish sales.

Low interest rates on home loans

Global exposure has resulted in people taking realty investments seriously for both self-consumption and as an asset. This has also led to more people between the 25 to 35 years of age because they can leverage on the home loan financing option. However, the rate of interest on the home loans was a huge matter of concern for home buyers that is tackled now. Interest rates have come down by a 15-year low currently, making it one of the most lucrative times to borrow a home loan. After the RBI reduced the repo rate to 4 %, most leading banks in India offer home loans below 7 percent annual interest. Resultantly, more and more home enquiry leads translated to sales.

Additionally, developers are offering bespoke payment schemes like 10:90, 20:80 etc., waiver of stamp duty/registration charges/ GST (8% of the property cost have to be paid as GST on under-construction properties) and cash-back schemes that is reducing significant financial burden of home buyers.

Finally, with all desirable measures in place, realty investment is a win-win situation for both end-users who are experiencing significant reductions in monetary burden and the realty sector which is marching up.