NOIDA/GURGAON:After a freeze of almost two years, the pre-Diwali home buying sentiment in NCR has begun to show signs of thaw, predicting a steer for the residential property market towards recovery mode.
The negativity shrouding the real estate market ahead of Diwali in 2015, seems to have waned. With Diwali exactly one month ahead from now, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) claims the sales figures are on a recovery mode, shown by interest generated in the market.
“In Gurgaon, we have so far seen a spike of 10-15% sales over 2015. From October 1 onwards, we expect the figures to improve further. The estimates are even better for Noida and Greater Noida. We see a healthy recovery of sales in the twin cities, a projection of 20-25% hike in sales in the region is projected for October. Ghaziabad too is showing improvement in sales,” Credai NCR president, Manoj Gaur told TOI.
According to Gaur, the builders have prepared to push sales of ready-to-move-in flats this season with a bouquet of discounts and benefits. “In order to gain the attention from first time home buyers, most builders, who have ready inventory and even completion certificates for ready apartments, are offering heavy discounts on service taxes, stamp duty, car parking fee, electric meter charges and several other such benefits. Depending on the size, range and quality of such apartments, the tangible benefits at the time of purchase for buyers can range from Rs8lakh to Rs24 lakh in terms of discounts,” Gaur explained.
“A high number of completion certificates offered by Noida Authority in last six months, coupled with a thaw in the freeze by most buyers who had taken a wait and watch attitude towards real estate for last two years and a general improvement in popular sentiment towards the mid-range market are all reasons that have contributed towards this improvement in buyer’s interest in real estate in NCR. Noida and Greater Noida will see a better movement of property over Gurgaon because Gurgaon is still stuck in infrastructure issues in new settlement areas. The greatest sales are predicted in apartments which are priced below 50 lakh,” Surabhi Arora, Senior Associate Director, Research, Colliers International, India, told TOI.
However, even as one part of the market shows signs of recovery, for another segment of buyers, who are already invested in various projects, delivery seems to be a long wait. While Jaypee and Unitech projects in the city are delayed by close to eight years now, many other builders are also delayed by 3-7 years.
“Buyers like us, who invested in projects when they were being launched, have been victims. The new buyers should desist from investing in projects which have only been launched. The best bet is to buy into projects which are ready-to-move-in. All certifications should be in place. Buyers should see that they do not face any of the conflicts like delayed lack of completion certificates, over-charging of maintenance charges and other infrastructure issues while booking a flat. The new buyers are in a better position while buying apartments than the first generation apartment buyers in NCR, like us,” Shweta Bharti, general secretary, Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (Nefowa) said.
Source: ET Reality
