South India-the real-estate hotspot

BY Realty Plus

  Founded in the year 1986, Salarpuria Sattva Group has been one of the earliest builders of Bangalore, providing residential homes, IT Parks, Retail and Corporate office spaces. The Group headquartered in Bangalore has significant presence in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Goa, Vizag and Vadodara. Bijay Agarwal, Managing Director, Salarpuriav Sattva Group talks to Realty Plus This ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 certified company, is a founding member of IGBC. It has completed over 18 million square feet of development, 17 million square feet is under-construction and 30 million square feet is in different stages of design and development. Your journey as a real-estate developer  I moved to Kolkata in 1985 and joined a finance corporation where I took on a half constructed project from a builder due to his unstable financial conditions. This was my first entry into the construction industry.From there on, I took up construction projects and was mentored by the Late G.D Salarpuria. In the year 1993, I came to Bangalore to set up the Salarpuria Group and have never looked back since. The 90’s was a time when world economies were opening up and initiation of globalization was at its peak.  When MNC’s began pouring into India, few developers had the capacity and capability to provide international standards to the discerning customers. The changing scenario helped us to approach construction and development with innovative ideas and maintain the highest international standards. The group an “A” Stable Rated Company by CRISIL and indicates a strong financial position. We recently tied up with Blackstone and Apollo Asia funds for the development of properties in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Vadodara. Brief on the Bangalore real estate market Bangalore the IT capital of India, has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the last few decades. Primarily, riding on the IT boom the real-estate sector has performed quite well. The cosmopolitan atmosphere along with good social infrastructure and excellent educational institutes has further expedited its growth. It is a job hub, education hub and health destination. Empirical evidence suggests Bangalore as a relatively a stable realty market in comparison to other metro cities. During the slowdown Bangalore market fared better in both commercial as well as the residential segment. The commercial sector has gained sufficient momentum. The residential segment has witnessed 5-7% (in the first half of 2016). Historically, the residential market starts to gain momentum once commercial markets have picked. The impact of RERA on the overall real estate segment With passage of The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016 Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has come into existence. It’s a regulatory body under which all the developers have to register their projects. Today, the biggest problem the real estate industry is struggling with trust deficit of the home-buyers. The implementation of RERA sector is bound to witness greater transparency and bringing accountability of developers, which in-return will boost the trust and confidence of the home buyers in the market.Also it enables single-window clearance, which will expedite the process of construction and led to time bound completion of the project. The same will give major boost the developer community as well. Most importantly RERA will gradually phase-out speculators from the real estate market and lead the industry towards sustainable growth. Hence, it is pertinent for all the players in real estate segment to adopt the same for the better future of the industry. The recent trends in property buying Today’s home-buyers have evolved. Before making a decision they do a thorough research, hence, can’t be swayed by flashy offers or sheer brand name. Trust and track record is a very important factor for the consumer.  Some recent trends include:

• Commercial Properties demand has gained considerable momentum since the beginning of last year
• The Residential sector is showing signs of recovery. Bangalore is growing now at5% to 7%
• Along with quality of construction home buyers are also keen to have world class amenities at the project
• In mid-segment projects, people prefer compact homes
• With growing awareness among the home-buyers pertaining to environment, many prefer projects comprising green features
• There is more demand for ready- to- occupy homes as of now.

  The future growth plans I would like our work environment to be more technology enabled. I am always on the learning path- from technology to aspects of business and wish to continue to hone my knowledge. Last year I completed an enriching President programme Management Course run by Harvard. The company growth plans include expanding in Hyderabad and Bangalore, focusing more on commercial properties and plans to enter Mumbai market as well.

Tags : Developers Speak