Balancing Simplicity and Opulence
Incepted in 1987, Ashok Mohanani started with the construction of modeststandalone buildingsin western suburbs of Mumbai. He was joined by his son, Vivek Mohanani, in 2001. From singular buildings to residential layouts across Mumbai and tier II & tier III cities, Ekta world today is a brand to reckon. Vivek Mohanani - MD & CEO at Ekta World shares his views on their journey as well as that of Indian realty. From a humble beginning as a Real Estate Consultant to a stalwart in the today’s Real estate fraternity, Ashok Mohanani has achieved it all. He has been instrumental in the growth of the organization and has gone beyond the conventional and given structures that personify finesse. Ashok has been the driving force behind the metamorphosis the organization has had in the recent past. EKTA world, continues to endeavor to give the city structures that one can be proud of. Each project is a landmark and is a memorable part of the city skyline; EKTA world has not just built remarkable structures but has also built a reputation that is as solid. EKTA world has significantly contributed to the restructuring and has pioneered conceptsin the Real Estate fraternity like Villas in the Sky, private plunge pools and elevators etc. Company’s geographical footprint and landmark projects EKTA world has grown in leaps & bounds with about 20.08 million square feet of completed and unconstructed projects and over 14500 happy families that stand testimony to our promise of quality, timely delivery and peace of mind. Famed foritsthoughtful planning,marvelous architecture and excellent execution,the group’ssuccessstoriesinclude Lake Homes, EKTA meadows, EKTA terraces, Lake Superior, EKTA Empress,Ecstasy I & II, & Eminente. These are few of the landmark residences the group has built over the years. The group has built choicest residential complexes in the western suburbs between Bandra & Dahisar in Mumbai, the up market NIBM road at Pune and a global residential township near the heritage site of Pandav Leni at Nashik and 16 acres project in Virar- EKTA Parksville. Some of our premium projects include, EKTA Tripolis in Goregaon West having luxurious 2, 3-bedroom apartments strategically located off link road has been the most sought-after destination. EKTA Parksville, Virar offer its residents- “The Big City Lifetsyle” endowed with all plush amenities like Swimming pool, lavish club house, open gym, multipurpose court, life size chess and many more. This particularly catered to the middle-income group and elevated their standard of living to that of the big city lifestyle. Uber luxurious, projects EKTA Invictus in Dadar, EKT Trinity in Santacruz and WestBay in Bandra offer scenic life to its crème de la crème customers. What are the Pros and Cons of RERA for developers as well as buyers? RERA is touted as the harbinger of change and is enacted with the purpose to make operational & process rules and creation of institutional infrastructure for protecting the interests of buyers and promoting the growth of real estate sector in an environment of trust, transparency, credible transactions and timely execution of projects. Per se there aren’t any disadvantages,since the premise of having such a law was to curb all undesirous malpractices and eliminate dubious developers. Moreover, consolidation among developers as well as large land owners is likely due to subdued market conditions, with smaller players expected to look for avenues for funding. It has created a leveled ground for credible developers. Furthermore, as per the Law, they have ringed fenced projects financially i.e. 70% collections is deposited in a dedicated RERA account. All pertinent information is also updated on the website,such as Units sold, litigations, title certificate, amenities, completion date etc. having all this information at a click of a button has facilitated consumers to make informed decisions. With affordable housing getting industry status, how commercially viable is this segment for developers? Like Luxury, affordability perse is non-specific, and the actual meaning would change with the context, level of economic development and income levels. The government’s financial and fiscal policy measures coupled with regulatory support could convert the increased demand for affordable housing into a commercially viable opportunity.Affordable housing industry status has been an important step in ensuring that our Honorable Prime Minister Vision of Housing for All 2022 is achieved. Affordable housing finance is estimated to be a 6-lakhcrore business opportunity by 2022. It reflected a growth of 27% between January to September 2017 (y-o-y). Out of the total supply, the share of housing supply in the Housing segment with capital value below INR 4,000 per sq. ft has increased to 28% in 2017 from 23% in 2016. It would be prudent to say that affordable Housing segment is on an upswing, the recent growth in the sector can be attributed to the mission-mode implementation of the PMAY-HFA; affordable housing’s new-found infrastructure status; as well asmuch-improved inflow offormal credit (NBFCs and banks) to the segment. Furthermore, profitlinked incentive gets 100% deduction in respect of the profit or gain derived from developing or building low cost housing, (projects approved after 1.6.2016 but before 31.03.2019). Some of the other fiscal incentives are reducing the holding period of three years to two years for categorization of the property as long-term assets. Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been reduced to effective rate of 8% in cases of following categories like, Low cost houses up to the carpet area of 60 sqm per houses under the ‘scheme of affordable housing in partnership’ framed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and low cost houses up to the carpet area of 60 sqm per house under the affordable housing is a component of the housing for all urban mission/- PMAY. Brief on your sales & marketing strategies Property marketing routinely includes market research, consumer insights, branding, lead generation, post sales marketing initiatives among others. Post RERA, it is mandatory that developers have all approvals and RERA registration in place prior to marketing the project. Larger than life imagery and inaccurate information is now punishable under the Act, hence it is imperative that all communication and marketing collaterals are following the norm and devoid of misrepresentation. Channel Partner’s contribution has increased manifold and with registration too in RERA has clearly made them more professional and mandate oriented. There are occasions when developers give channel partners accelerated incentive programs along with preferential pricing for limited period. Such programs drive them to perform and achieve targets within stipulated time-lines. They are an extended sales arm fordevelopers. Referrals too significantly contribute to the sales pipe line. Customerservice and relationship management is of paramount importance, there is movement from mere transaction-oriented relationship to more fulfilling service-oriented relationship. This relationship continues beyond project delivery and possession and transcends to almost familial bonds. With the ease of funding norms how do you see the investments in real estate changing. The year 2017 can be best defined as a landmark year for the industry as various game changing regulatory developments and structural reforms including RERA, GST and industry status to affordable housing, were rolled out. Likewise, 2018 & 2019 will be the year of large-scale consolidation of developers and brokers, resulting in a drop in unsold inventory. Government’s push in promotingaffordable housing will continue. Private Equity in real estate is estimated to rise taking the cumulative investments to US$ 100 Bn by 2026. The next 10 years will attract a high amount of PE for the sector owing to some strong growth points. The estimated growth for PE inreal estate will be at 10% CAGR with Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities being the prime beneficiaries of the same.In the past 12 years, India has seen investments of US$ 42 Billion. How do you feel the new Mumbai DP plan will impact the realty development of city? With the Mumbai Development Plan 2034 unmarking 3,700 hectares of land that was earlier designated as no-developmentzone (NDZ) for construction of residential real estate and terming them as Special Development zone. with more housing stock getting added in the affordable category, prices may correct by 5 to 6 per cent but thisis possible only if the increased FSI, promised under the blueprint for the city’s development for the next 16 years, is available at rational prices and not at a premium. Under the new Development Plan, over 3,000 hectares of land would be available for building affordable houses after unlocking the NDZ land. Apart from thisland, an additional 300 hectares of salt pan land will also be available for affordable housing. About 10 lakh affordable houses will be built on these lands by 2034. Once implemented, the new Mumbai DP is expected to significantly alter the city’s real estate landscape. Provision of additional FSI for both commercial and residential segments is expected to release additional supply across various pockets in the city. The rise in FSI and infusion of fresh land, as envisaged by the DP, will help accommodate more population into the island city, even though the city is already bursting at itsseams with a population density of nearly 20,000 people/sq. km.
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