Sunday, 14 March 2010

Twenty-25 per cent toh market tootega

The brokers have a vested interest to drop prices since at current prices there are no buyers. Builders launch projects and sell to investors, now investors get greedy and are not ready to drop prices to the higher levels held by the builders. Brokers are squeezed in between as there are no transactions as investors are not ready to drop prices. Builders have no incentive to drop prices as they have sold to the investors and if they drop prices, investors will start bailing out and demanding a reduction in prices, similar to the DLF fiasco in Chennai. End-users cannot buy since they are not eligible for bank loans. Its a catch -22 situation which this ponzi scheme has now reached. The bubble will unwind one apt at a time, as investors realise that they have been fooled by the builders. There is no denying the fact that there is demand, however the price at which the demand is satisfied is in the range of 4k - 6k per sq/ ft in Mumbai. There are always exceptions to the rule however in the general locations where income levels don't cross 10-15L this is the range.

The same scenario will unfold all over Mumbai. This article in the mainstream media is what I was waiting for. I have been crying myself hoarse over the past few years and a 25-30% reduction in investor prices will bring apts down to under 5k per sq ft.

Congratulations buyers for being sensible. I woudn't mind paying the broker 2% if he can convince the investor that the bubble has burst and ask him to drop prices to the 4,000-5,000 range.

Goregaon-Borivli to house 30,000 new homes by 2012

Buyers can expect a correction in realty prices soon, say experts

By Alka Shukla
Posted On Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 02:05:39 AM

According to data collated by suburban brokers, around three-crore square feet of residential property could be up for grabs between Goregaon and Borivli over the next three years.


Going by the average apartment area of 1,000 sq ft, some 30,000 houses could be ready for possession in the next two to three years. That’s almost three times the average supply of homes seen in this belt. The current real estate rate in this region is between Rs 7,000 and 9,000 per sq ft.

“Many developers were sitting on land banks for the past two years. Holding on to land also involves its own costs and post-downturn, it’s prudent to capitalise on it. So you’ve seen a slew of launches.

Even as of today in the said belt, there is an unsold ready stock of one crore square feet,” says Pankaj Kapoor of Liases Foras, a realty research firm, indicating that there will be a glut in the market in the next two years, bringing prices down by 25-30 per cent.

Another real estate expert Ajay Chaturvedi concurs, “Builders are not really seeing the kind of demand that is being projected. Prices are bound to drop in the range of 15-25 per cent,” he says.

Picture for representational purposes
In fact a survey done by Liases Foras suggests that there will be nine crore sq ft of homes by 2011-2012.

This translates roughly to 90,000 homes, around 30 per cent of which will be in the extended suburbs from Dahisar to Virar, Thane and Navi Mumbai.

Developers claim there is enough demand to absorb the supply. Niranjan Hiranandani, MD, Hiranandani Group which has launched a seven lakh sq ft project in Malad says, “I strongly disagree that there will be an over-supply situation. What we have today in fact is gross under-supply. Although it is difficult to speculate on prices.”

Vijay Wadhwa of Wadhwa Group which has launched eight lakh sq ft of residential construction in Borivli and 10 lakh sq ft in Goregaon feels the sudden surge in supply will shake the smaller players. “Lot of projects have been launched recently, but only few are that good. There is enough demand in the city, but only the ones will a steady track record will sustain. Over-priced products will suffer,” says Wadhwa.

Property consultants however sound a word of caution. Says Pranay Wakil, Chairman, Knightfrank, “It will depend on what segment these houses cater to.

If 30,000 houses in one region are in one particular segment, say over Rs 75 lakh, there could be an over-supply. There needs to be a healthy mix of affordable and premium housing.”

Local brokers, however feel prices will fall. “Twenty-25 per cent toh market tootega,” says a Malad-based broker, continuing, “Many local developers are trying to sell flats at the rate of Rs 4-5,000 per sq ft to investors first and then selling only part of the stock in phases to the buyers for a higher rate. That’s how they are holding on to high prices.”

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