A home inside the bubble

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and IT parks.

Also warming up to the idea is the Ajmera group of companies, which is planning to develop middle-income homes in Wadala, Ghatkopar, Borivali and Kanjurmarg. Group director Dhaval Ajmera say, “We have started getting actively involved in the business of redeveloping dilapidated buildings in 10 locations in Mumbai, which will cater to the needs of middle-income housing and attract buyers.”

Looking at the scenario, international property consultants have started giving clear indications that the year could see a drop in the ‘high-value’ properties in the real estate market, since retail customers are looking for buying homes that cost less than Rs 50 lakh.

Aditya Verma, business head, Makaan.com, which gets on an average 7 lakh visitors a month, says, “Most visitors access Makaan.com primarily to look for properties meeting their requirements. Based on this vast user base, we can confidently say that 70% visitors are interested in properties below Rs 50 lakh. The trend in this data suggests that there will be a drop in high-value properties. So, 2008 will see more upcoming projects in less than Rs 50 lakh bracket.”

Agrees Puri. “Most major Indian developers are now actively getting into affordable homes to meet the existing shortage of 25 million residential units in the country. This is also a means for them to hedge the downside of a drop in the demand for luxury homes. There is a huge demand for residential units in the Rs 30-Rs 50 lakh range, but the metros have next to nothing to offer.”

This, he says, makes the demand for middle-income homes much higher than that for luxury homes, presenting a lucrative and ongoing option for such developers to play the volume game in middle-income housing. However, most of these developers continue to develop high-end homes to meet the demand that exists. Hemant Shah, chairman, Akruti City, says, “We are seriously thinking of providing affordable housing to the masses.”