As the population of seniors has been steadily growing, the demand for senior living housing will continue to rise. And pioneers like us will scale up, says Ankur Gupta, JMD, Ashiana Housing.

In an exclusive interview with Sanjeev Sinha, Mr Gupta shares his views on changing homebuyer preferences in post-pandemic times, growth expectations for senior living projects, and what prompted them to foray into kid-centric homes. Excerpts:

Real estate, particularly the housing segment, is said to be doing well post the pandemic. Do you think the festive season will give the sector a further push?

The festive season is a good time to buy or invest in the housing segment. We are witnessing satisfying growth in terms of business and festive seasons are adding into it. As mentioned, this festive season will likely bring cheers to millions as it comes after the two-year pandemic. Having the July-Sept period already witnessing stupendous growth, the upcoming quarters will continue to perform.

The current inflation could be a worry for many. Despite the inflationary pressure, the current interest rate regime favors homebuyers, as the levels are still lower as compared to the peaks that we witnessed during the pre-pandemic levels. Hence, prospective homebuyers should enter the market and buy. With affordability remaining high, employment numbers are strong again favoring a buying phase.

Has there been any impact of the pandemic on senior living housing? How is this segment doing currently & what is the future outlook?

The pandemic has impacted all the sectors of economy, but post pandemic things changed to a great extent and interestingly, the demand for senior living housing has increased. As per a recent report by National Statistical Office (NSO)’s Elderly in India 2021, India’s elderly population (aged 60 and above) is projected to touch 194 million in 2031 from 138 million in 2021, a 41% increase over a decade.

As the population of seniors has been steadily growing, the demand for senior living housing will continue to rise. And pioneers like us will scale up. The types of services and amenities on offer in these projects will continue to evolve as the industry will grow. We observe that metros cities are already witnessing a surge in such projects. However, in the longer run, suburbs and tier-II cities will also see healthy supply. Some of the tier-II cities include Bhiwadi, Coimbatore, Puducherry, Vadodara, Bhopal, Jaipur, Mysuru, Dehradun and Kasauli, among others. Metros where we have seen the supply are Chennai, Pune (Lavasa) and Bengaluru.

We expect that over the next 4-5 years, the demand for senior living projects will increase multi-fold in non-metro cities. There are reasons behind this: Attractive financing options available, availability of land and plenty of space to build sprawling complexes have made these cities more attractive. And seniors love these open spaces. Although growth rates vary by region, there is a growing trend that a majority of seniors would prefer living in cities with low population densities. The trend of seniors moving into cities with low population densities is also contributing to this growth. It creates opportunities for developers to create new projects in these markets, where there is less competition. Medium to long-term market predictions suggest that as compared to metros, many more senior living communities would come up in these markets.

What sets Ashiana Housing apart from other senior living facilities? What is your USP?

Ashiana Housing is a pioneer in Senior Living Homes in the country, offering top-class facilities. We currently serve more than 1800 happy seniors across our three projects, in which we take care of everything for our residents – from an active and healthy lifestyle to healthy vegetarian meals, an active routine, and regular health check-ups.

We’ve recently launched our most premium Senior Living Home yet – Ashiana Advik, with innovative and first-in-class ‘Active scapes’. Advik comes with spacious apartments as well as independent villas. With Advik, we aim to further revolutionize Senior Living in India. Advik is spread over 16.9 acres of lush green spaces and brings in new and innovative Active scapes which are designed to keep senior citizens active at all times.

Retirement Life with Ashiana Senior Living is a whole different experience that you can’t get anywhere else. Our primarily focus is on providing ample facilities to our senior citizen residents. The facilities include taking care of one’s mental agility attained by befriending books in the library, having lively conversations with like-minded people or by attending classes for cooking, dancing, arts and more, keeping at bay the everyday worries and strife.

All our Senior Living Homes are well laid out and well designed. Our locations are such that there is little to no pollution and a breath of fresh air always awaits our residents. We take care of everything from residents’ activity, routine, and social life to safety, security, and health. Ashiana Senior Living Homes give senior citizens a sense of independence while at the same time not compromising on their security. All our SLHs come with age-friendly design and amenities like – skid-resistant tiles, chamfered wall edges, grabrails in the bathroom, Night Lamp in the master bedroom, switches with LED indicators, flats fitted with Emergency Response System, wheelchair-accessible campus and flats, 24×7 ambulance, on-call doctors, pharmacy and utility stores, etc.

What prompted Ashiana Housing to foray into kid-centric homes? Why is this concept gaining popularity in India? What are your future plans for this segment?

With the increasing urbanization and growing nuclear families with working parents, there is a need for a space that provides safety and security to the children while parents are away to work and at the same time, exposes kids to several sports and co-curricular activities. At Ashiana we worked towards the need of the hour which has given rise to a new reality trend, i.e., kid-centric homes. Typically, a kid-centric home is a gated community which provides all the facilities that are needed for children’s development and their all-round growth.

Ashiana kid-centric homes are a finest example of BehtarParvarishKaPata. The facilities provided here are made keeping in mind to nurture and empower children for their successful future. A special learning hub is provided here, where children develop multifaceted personalities. With the inclusion of world-class facilities to address core necessities related not just to proper infrastructure but other pivotal areas such as learning and talent enhancement, inculcating important moral values and learning to share with their fellow beings in addition to others, the kid-centric homes are designed to nurture the crucial years of a kid’s life.

Our newest kid-centric homes project is Ashiana Amarah at sector-93, Gurugram. Amarah is spread over an area of 22 acres, of which 6.7 acres are lush green exteriors. The project is full of innovative and luxurious amenities for kids centered around four key elements i.e. Learning, Nurturing, Support & Care. Our all kid-centric projects are perfect blend of learning, growth, fun, and overall development altogether with kid-centric amenities. At Ashiana, we are known for providing a holistic fun, and nurturing environment to the growing kids which will ultimately lead them into becoming multi-faceted personalities and responsible citizens of tomorrow.

What are you currently doing in view of the changing preferences of homebuyers and what are your future plans? Do you have any plans to foray into new cities as well?

The pandemic has induced home buyers to reassess their preferences and this is driving some fascinating changes in their attitudes. Now, buyers are looking for a house which provides them with different types of facilities, amenities and enough space for working. At Ashiana Housing, we work towards different aspects i.e. well-designed concept home, lush green environment, vast open areas with fresh breeze. Our goal is to provide buyers a safe haven at a prime location.

In terms of expansion, we have recently launched two new projects – in senior living we have launched Ashiana Advik with over 900 residential units, including 37 villas, at Bhiwadi & in kid-centric homes we have launched Ashiana Amarah in Gurugram, in which in phase one 224 units got sold off on the first day of launch. In the future, Ashiana intends to grow in the cities where we are already present, such as Pune, Chennai, Bhiwadi, and Gurgaon.