No frenzied buying in real estate this festive season - MagicBricks.com

Oct 19, 2012, 06:46PM IST

Delhi NCR

Enticing sops and mega discounts? notwithstanding, deals have not been struck in the real estate market this festive season as expected, says Ramesh Menon, Director of GIREM (Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment & Management)

It?s festival time, what is the mood in the real estate market?

There?s no spike, no buying frenzy in the market. Traditionally, the process of purchase was targeted at the festival period, especially the Navratras. This year, the market is the same it was six months ago ? in short, stagnant. The enthusiasm that is usually seen is yet to be witnessed.

So, it is a slow market?

The gap between the developer and resale market price is a clear indicator of the slow pace of the market. Developers are essentially hiking prices so that the investor makes money, but the end-user is simply not accepting these prices. The gap is disconcerting and a correction in the market is must!

What are challenges that the real estate industry is now facing?

With prices increasing, the consumer is adopting a wait and watch policy. There are 40 lakh dwelling units in Gurgaon and Noida itself under various stages of development. In Gurgaon, there is nothing available under Rs 60-70 lakh and not everybody, especially an end-user, has that kind of money. The Delhi real estate market needs to take a leaf out of the Bangalore market, which did not tank because it?s an end-user-driven market.? Nearly 70,000 hectares of land in the country is arid and cannot be cultivated. This should be developed to meet the demand for land.

How do you plan to take GIREM and its agenda ahead to voice the concerns of the industry?

GIREM is trying to bring the think-tank in the private sector, end users and policy makers together to evaluate and bring around a change in the industry ? for better technology, diverse knowledge base and manpower.? Today, IT in India has a 120 billion dollar turnover and real estate is pegged at 150 billion dollars. Compared to the IT sector, the real estate market is like a mom-and-pop store.? Our biggest hindrance today is trained professionals and manpower. We cannot make strides unless we make use of better technology and bring professionalism to the table.

Indrani Rajkhowa Banerjee, MagicBricks.com Bureau

Source: http://content.magicbricks.com/no-frenzied-buying-in-real-estate-this-festive-season/

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