Reimagining Sales Strategies In 2021

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The real estate marketers struggled in 2020 to brace through the unexpected events. The realty firms are adapting to new sales trends with innovative approach and tools. Piyush Gupta, Managing Director -Capital Markets & Investment Services (India)- Colliers International said : "Year 2020 was a difficult for everyone. It was remarkable to bounce back in such a short time with markets like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru witnessing record breaking sales. There have been some recalibration of factors, like interest rates, stamp duty, etc.`` Sachin Bhandari, Chief Executive Officer, VTP Realty agreed, “Customers have started visiting the site and taking decisions. Sales momentum has increased. Reduction in the stamp duty was the most welcome move. The customers rushed to avail this offer which boosted the sales. I'm very bullish that the momentum will continue." Shailesh Puranik, Managing Director, Puranik Builders Pvt Ltd said, "First home segment, plotted development, second home segments are doing well. From the past 5 years we have seen different kinds of demand in the market and developers catering to them. We are witnessing another boom cycle in the real estate market." Pankaj Kapoor, Founder and Managing Director, Liases Foras Real Estate Rating & Research Pvt Ltd expressed, "Due to covid pandemic first quarter did not have any sales happening, sales started occurring after the government announced reduction in stamp duty. We were 67% down in the first quarter and after that reduction we grew 60 % back and in next quarter more by 24%. On the overall India asset, we have lost close to 32% of revenue. 13.5 lacs unsold units were with top builders in top 8 cities. This momentum should continue but it is purely in the hands of builders. We have not sold annual assets, monthly inventories are under construction and now builders have increased prices. New launches will come that means inventories will build-up, coming back to 60-65%. Developers should not increase prices and sales momentum should be increased by giving more attractive offers to customers." Vishal Jumani, Joint Managing Director, Supreme Universal stated, "Demand for luxury properties too has spiked. After a long time, everything is in the favour of buyers like stamp duty reduction, offers from builders, lower interest rates. Luckily property prices have remained stable and they have neither gone down nor up. Stamp duty was definitely an accelerator that helped everyone." Mudra Wedhikar, Chief Executive Officer, EstateMint mentioned, "We have seen a lot of changing trends in home buying. Offline spending has reduced and digital spend has increased. In the last few months the number of advertisements aired digitally has increased. Also people have started choosing plotted development apartments. Many real estate companies are using digital platforms to generate more revenue, attract customers and getting leads.” Mani Rangrajan, Chief Operating Officer, Housing.com, Makaan.com and Proptiger.com elaborated, "We have seen a great year on year growth in sales for those who opted for a digital sales platform. There was 70% growth in terms of audience. The increased traffic was in the home buying segment rather than in renting an apartment. Walkthrough video of a sample flat acted as the need of the hour. As through such virtual video tours builders could showcase site visits for buyers. Number of virtual site visits increased on our platforms. We noticed that 50% of people wanted to move into a larger home. Also new markets are emerging in tier 1 and tier 2 cities due to reverse migration." Developers should make a wise decision in selecting the right medium at the right time of a project cycle. Valuing engineering and opting for the right platform to endorse the brand are equally important. GO-TO- MARKET STRATEGIES Shailesh Puranik commented that in the real estate sector gone are those days where people used to sell slowly and get rewarded with higher prices. “Urban cities like Mumbai, Pune will keep on expanding with the rising demand for real estate. As an industry we need to start learning the new trends, buyers’ behaviour and other factors which play an important role in the sales strategies. We need to look at whether the digital medium is giving us more revenue or the print medium." Mudra Wedhikar explained, 'It is very important to have the right kind of product as well as then marketing plan to accelerate the sales. Value engineering helps in making and maximising the product. I think a good media plan helps to know the niche, target audience all these factors bring down the cost today. You have to add wow factor to your product to sell like having attractive amenities, innovative designs or financial offers." Pankaj Kapoor mentioned, "From 2015 till now the number of developers have increased in India. However, customers are more comfortable with established brand names, for an assured delivery on time. Going forward, what will lead to sales, is the brand and the value of the product." Sachin Bhandari was of the view that there is now a consolidation happening in real estate sector. “We have seen residential developers showing loyalty towards their customers and local players investing and creating big projects. Localization will be the future.” Shailesh Puranik said, “Consolidation is indeed happening in the market. Many developers are ready to play the land aggregator role and they are doing joint ventures with other developers. Nowadays customers are tech savvy so we need to maintain our brand presence on digital platforms. And then comes digital marketing which also plays the most important role in today's market." Vishal Jumani added, "One has to plan the right product at a right price for the right market. Developers should understand the needs and desires of the buyers, before designing the product and keep your buyers updated on the progress of the work. They are evaluating every project via digital platforms.” Mani Rangarajan said, “We will see great sales velocity in coming years. The current momentum will continue as buyers understand the importance of their own home but developers will have to keep a watch on the price of the product." Piyush Gupta commented, “COVID-19 will likely continue to influence India’s economy. We expect a gradual recovery of demand backed by an improving economy and the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines in H2. If we look at capital appreciation 10-15% a year on return, from a customer perspective, it is a big catalyst." It's not a developer that increases price, it's a supply demand, profitably and cash flow dynamics. PSU banks have gone out of funding business for real estate. NBFCS want to do retail and home loans. They want to lend only to a select few developers. If everyone will do home loans who will finance builders for developing assets.