JOIN USThe real estate business usually shines in the October-December period. That’s the time, which sees the highest sales in properties for the entire year.
Festivals like Ayudha Puja, Mahalaya Amavasya, Diwali and Bakri Eid offer the perfect occasion to invest in realty in a big way.
Indians don’t invest in property during the Ashada month, as it is considered inauspicious. Developers understand this sensibility and put off projects till the onset of Ayudha Puja, points out Suresh Hari, Secretary of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations’ of India (CREDAI), Karnataka.
Time is right
“During the auspicious months from October to November, sales go up sharply. I have seen many companies selling 30 percent to 40 percent of existing stock or new stock being readied. In some cases, even 50 percent sales have happened. The auspicious quarter is understood to be the best season to sell and buy. People from all regions of the country succeed in getting high-profile flats, followed by the urban middle-class who invest in flats ranging from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 80 lakh,” informs Suresh.
According to real estate analyst, Srinivas Reddy, the highly-mobile middle-class purchases majority number of flats in the middle-range. “This is largely due to the IT revolution that has invaded Bangalore since the 1980s,” he maintains.
“It was in the 90s that the IT revolution turned out to be truly spectacular, creating over the last two decades, employment opportunities running to about ninety lakh in one sector alone. The income generated by IT resulted in fairly good salary structures that enabled lakhs of employees to invest in properties,” he adds.
Reddy also points out that entire real estate in the last two decades has been IT-driven. “No other industry has come close to the IT sector in creating jobs. This sector alone has created a staggering nine million jobs.”
Most people buying apartments in the mid-range do so on EMI basis, contracting loans as high as Rs 50 lakh. A tech professional, Naveen Gowda, who recently purchased a flat in Ramamurthy Nagar on EMI basis, said he could now concentrate on his job and family as he had a home of his own.“I have invested in a joint-EMI plan. Since my wife and I are both working, we can afford the EMI scheme and repay the loan easily. We live in a time when you have to take quick decisions. So we decided to have a home that would serve as base for professional and family travel,” he explains.
Discounts galore
The festive season also sees plenty of discounts by developers. Almost every project promises green landscapes all around the apartment blocks, a clubhouse, library and highly automated elements for the entire house – from door-locks to personalised rest rooms. On paper, everything grand is promised. It is also well-known that in Bangalore, the properties come with a good finish, a fact acknowledged by developers from outside Bangalore too.
Mid-range apartments are built to quality too, but there are drawbacks – leaking pipes and ledges, incomplete elements, wood quality, problems in plumbing and so on. The sense of finish has to improve to open more doors for sales. But even with all such problems, the demand remains high as buyers love to invest in what they consider to be a safe buy during auspicious times.
Loans also come fairly easy these days with competition driving down interest rates to an affordable level. The average discount rates range from 10.5 percent to 11.75 percent.
The salaried class, particularly young couples are able to handle the EMI as many of them are working professionals. The buoyant nature of the market is concentrated in Hebbal, Whitefield, Sarjapur and Electronic City. But the western part of the city still needs to make a mark. Hebbal is also a good investment locale owing to its close proximity to the international airport.
Overall development of the Bangalore market is considered steady with reasonable returns, specially during the festive season.