Reputed Realty Players Stepping Out Of Their 'Comfort Zones', Good News For Prospective Buyers Looking For Choice

Not too long ago, country's top real estate developers stuck to their home turfs. According to developers, understanding the buyer's need in a focused area fairly solved the purpose of delivering good residencies to end users. With the changing times, developers started exploring other cities. This is because of the growing demand of residential housing across the country especially from the Tier II and III cities. Reputed developers who are already established and have marked their presence in the realty market need to come out of their comfort zone so that those in small cities can access quality construction.  

From buyer's perspective, it becomes a little monotonous exploring similar projects by the same developer year after year. They need choice. Buying a property in another locality from a different developer is not feasible for all the consumers until or unless the property is for investment purpose. This specific necessity made the developers explore cities other than their preferred areas. At the end, consumer's demand and needs matter the most for every — small and big developers.

One of India's best-known realtors, Niranjan Hiranandani, co-founder and MD of Hiranandani Group shares his view on the same, "the country faces huge shortage of homes that makes enough work for those who have the drive to start — and sustain — a real estate business. Just like other businesses, real estate enjoys its own risks and growth appetites. Some prefer to work within the same location, some try to work in not just other locations, but also overseas. So, there is the rule — and then, there are the exceptions. If we look at country's real estate, developers tend to work mostly in their 'comfort zones' — micro markets where they have tasted success, and continue to work in those locations. On the other hand, there are also those real estate developers who have moved out of their 'comfort zones' to undertake projects in other unexplored locations."

Changing trends in developers' locations

The increased competition in the local market is adding much mobility, which gives the established property players a reason to move out to seek other markets — the movement of DLF to Mumbai and Bengaluru; and Sobha Developers to Delhi are such pointers.

If we notice southern part of India, Sobha Developers is the major realtor, which manages to hold the strong grip over the property market and build up immense confidence among homebuyers. Now, Brigade and Sattva Group have entered these areas along with other prominent realty developers. The need of new developers entering other market spaces is due to the growing demand of distinct housing projects among homebuyers. The developers whose domain were luxury projects are now shifting towards mid-luxury or small apartments. A similar story runs in all metropolises, urban towns and cities.

Anil Pharande, Chairman Pharande Spaces, points out, "Several leading developers are now in fact actively venturing out of their primary cities and launching projects in other cities. In earlier times, the tendency was to stick to their known markets where their brands were well known. These days, the larger developers' brands are nationally known. This means that when they announce projects in other cities, they are not coming in as anonymous players. They also study these new cities carefully and do thorough research on the demand profile for housing, both at the city and micro-market level."

Arvind Jain, Managing Director, Pride Group, says, "Top-notch developers with an adequate financial capability and established brand presence are not shying away from developing projects beyond their accustomed borders anymore. In fact, launching projects outside their usual domain is a very good way of building confidence among potential homebuyers. The key enabling factor here is capitalisation - only developers who are adequately funded will take on this challenge. The buyers from small town/cities also show preferences for those builders who already established."

Real estate sector is witnessing a paradigm shift. Developers with a strong background will be able to deliver a quality product at reasonable prices which can suit the budget of buyers from every segment. Increased competition has also led developers to come out of their preferred locations.