Property prices are unlikely to rise sharply during the festive season as buyers have become very price sensitive and are not ready to pay premium on flats. Talking to Hindustan Times, Anuj Puri, chairman and country head, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM) said, “Developers have realised that they can no longer increase the prices at will as the customer will just not buy the product,” said Puri. He added that since consumers had returned to the market after a lull, developers were not keen to alienate them by quoting high prices. Puri said that the current market rates were similar to that of mid-2006 levels when the market was just picking up and said that it was the best time to buy.
However, unlike the last few years, this year, the festive season will witness fewer number of new project launches, falling by approximately 35 percent. Though major builders like Hiranandani (Goregaon), Supreme and RNA (Chembur) and Matoshree (Parel) will launch some projects around Diwali, many others have deferred their projects. “During the last one year we have faced a lot of problems and we have recovered. Our focus is to complete our existing projects and only then will we think of launching new ones,” said Anand Gupta, General Secretary, Builders Association of India, an apex body of the construction industry. Some developers are even adjusting their projects to suit low cost buyers.
Last week, Nahar Builders launched an affordable housing scheme at Powai at Rs 5,900 per sq ft in a complex where the going price was Rs 7,000. “The buyers of affordable houses will have smaller houses and less amenities,” said Sukhraj Nahar, director, Nahar Builders. Pujit Agrawal, managing director, Orbit Corporation Limited also thinks that people are no longer inclined to pay a premium.
