Chennai, October 24, 2015

NEWSDIGEST
HOUSING SALES TO RISE
Sales traditionally increased by up
to 25-30 per cent during the festive
season. However, this year, not
more than 15-20 per cent increase is
anticipated due to subdued sentiment and affordability gap in larger
cities like Mumbai, according to JLL.
The housing market is currently
flush with options for prospective
buyers and developers are offering
discounts in almost all the projects,
especially built units. To boost housing demand, JLL says, the government needs to review the taxes and
duties that affect the pricing of any
project. Also, the process of granting approvals needs to be speeded
up so that the time taken from conception to actual delivery of homes
is reduced.

BEING LOCATED ON THE OUTSKIRTS

OF THE CITY, THE OVERALL PRICE OF A
HOUSE IS BOUND TO COME DOWN
BY QUITE A BIT. BUT WHAT MANY
PEOPLE FORGET TO TAKE INTO
CONSIDERATION IS THAT THE
OVERHEADS IN A TOWNSHIP ARE
MUCH MORE THAN THAT OF A
RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX IN THE CITY,"
CHORDIA

E-COMMERCE TRENDS

The Indian shopper is constantly

evolving. The most prominent
change in the industry is being
brought about by the e-commerce
industry. The e-retail market is expected to rise from US$5 billion in
2015 to over US$130 billion by 2025.
Startups in the e-commerce space
have been increasing. Considering
India has one of the youngest population in the world and will have the
world's youngest population, with a
median age of 29 years by 2020, online retailers are expected to see exponential growth, according to Cushman & Wakefield survey on retailing
trends.
Investors have made a beeline for
such retailers with large chunks of
capital riding on online retailers.
With the advent of e-commerce, the
concept of deals and discounts has
taken centre-stage. As online retailers eye a big slice of the e-commerce pie, they are doing out deals
and discounts on a regular basis.
This has also led to elongated discount periods for brick-and-mortar
stores that has affected their margins.

Talk of the town

Grandeur and convenience come together to make
townships, a lifestyle many prospective home buyers of
Chennai are considering today
DIVYA.MENON@timesgroup.com

CEOSPEAK
PEOPLE LOSE FAITH
IN DEVELOPERS,
DUE TO THE LONG
TIME TAKEN IN
PROJECT
COMPLETION, SAYS
P B SRIKANTH,
CHAIRMAN, LE
ROYALE BUILDERS

Market is
picking up with
relaxation in
home loan rates
ADITYA.SHEKHAR@timesgroup.com
HOW HAS THE REAL ESTATE MARKET RESPONDED THIS YEAR AND WHAT ARE THE
KEY DIFFERENCES FROM THE LAST YEAR?
I have been in the market for more than 16 years
now. From the beginning of this year, the market
has been sluggish and gave lukewarm response
with very less incidents of revival. The real estate
scenario changes every six months but this time
around the growth has been stagnant. The takers
for new projects are few. However, after a slow
first half, the market is picking up with relaxation
in home loan rates. Ready-to-move-in projects
getting more preference as there are a lot of uncertainties when it comes to under construction
apartments. People tend to lose faith in developers due to the long time taken for completion.

change is on the cards.

From traditional independent homes to residential
complexes and gated communities to the all-inclusive townships that are the talk of the
town today, Chennai has adapted to
accommodate the changing demands
of the growing population. Of all the
factors that come into play while
building or buying a real-estate property, location is the most crucial. Be it
buyers or builders, everyone hopes to
be as centrally located as possible.
However, the lack of open space in the
city is something everyone is well
aware of. But it is this very lack of
space that led to the inception of the
townships, a trend that is catching the
fancy of the younger population of
the city.
The very name township suggests a
settlement that is away from the city.
The idea is to provide the residents
with everything they need in their
day-to-day life despite being away
from the heart of the city. According
to Ajit Chordia, president, CREDAI,
in Chennai, not every gated community which has a few amenities can be
called a township. A closed community needs to be at least over 25 acres
and house over 1000 homes for it to

COMMERCIAL REALTY ON
GROWTH PATH
Sturdy demand for corporate office
space in India's leading cities
strengthened in the third quarter of
2015, sustaining the improvement in
market sentiments since the previous
quarter, according to CBRE's India Office Market View for Q3 2015. More
than 9 million sq ft of commercial office space was taken up across the
seven leading cities during the review
period, resulting in an annual growth
of about 20% and a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) increase of around 6 per
cent. Rental values remained largely
stable in the Central Business Districts of most leading cities during the
period. A steady rise in office space
demand led to a q-o-q rental rise of 27% in prominent IT and SEZ developments of Gurgaon; Guindy, Mount
Poonamalle Road and Ambattur in
Chennai; IT Corridor in Hyderabad;
and of Aundh, Hinjewadi, Kharadi and
Baner in Pune.

possible in the saturated city," he

says. With amenities like all-inclusive clubhouses, gymnasiums, supermarkets, theatres, salons,
schools, day-care centre, recreational areas, ATMs, medical clinics, landscaping, security systems
and even shuttle services that are
exclusively meant for the residents of the community,
it is no wonder that
more and more people
are opting to buy homes
SIMPLE THINGS LIKE
CLEANLINESS, NO POLLUin such townships.
TION, LANDSCAPED OPEN
The original trigger
SPACES ARE THINGS
TOWNSHIPS STRIVE TO
for
the development of
PROVIDE
these townships came
DIP IN REALTY PRICES
HAVE WORKED FOR
with the boom in IT
TOWNSHIPS
parks and corporate
houses that came up on the
outskirts of the city. According to
Brunth D Sundar, managing director, CeeDeeYes, with a large number of companies setting up base in
these areas and every company
employing an even larger number
of employees, catering to the housing requirements of these employees soon became the need of the
hour. "These employees not only
have the purchasing power to buy
homes in such townships but also
are the ones who have been exposed to the lifestyle abroad and
wish to have a semblance of that in
their lives here. Simple things like
cleanliness, no pollution, landscaped open spaces appeal to them
and that is exactly what such townships strive to provide," he says.
"With the basic idea being to provide all that is available in the city
at a smaller scale, all the nitty-gritties need to be taken care of on a
be called a township. It is the grand scale of such
daily basis. Which is why keeping a
projects and the wide variety of amenities they
township running like clock-work
provide that make it such a hit with home buyers.
But more importantly, these townships offer a rad- is not all that different from runical change in lifestyle. Something that is no longer ning a company," he adds.

FAST FACTS
A CLOSED COMMUNITY NEEDS
TO BE AT LEAST OVER 25 ACRES
AND HOUSE OVER 1000 HOMES
FOR IT TO BE CALLED A
TOWNSHIP. IT IS THE GRAND
SCALE OF SUCH PROJECTS AND
THE WIDE VARIETY OF AMENITIES
THEY PROVIDE THAT MAKE IT
SUCH A HIT WITH HOME
BUYERS
SELF-SUFFICIENCY INITIATIVES
LIKE HAVING INDEPENDENT
PLANTS FOR WATER TREATMENT,
SEWAGE TREATMENT, SOLID
WASTE MANAGEMENT, NEED TO
BE CONSIDERED

For many home owners, it is the

stability and security that such
communities provide that acts as
the pull. "I've lived in an independent home for over 15 years and never known my neighbours as well as
the ones in my township. The security and the maintenance is such
that my parents are not worried
even when I decide to take a walk
at 2am. No matter what the time,
there is always someone around,"
says Aishwarya parasuram, who is
in her final year of Biotechnology.
There is a coming together of cultures that is not so evident in other
parts of the city. "Activities are
conducted for every festival and
occasion which makes it easier for
people to get to know each other.
Even the amenities that are available, although one might not use
all of them on a daily basis, the fact
that everything is there on hnad,
makes it convenient for when you
need it, " she adds.
Another factor that works in the
favour of such townships is the dip
in realty prices. "Being located on
the outskirts of the city, the overall
price of a house is bound to come
down by quite a bit. But what many
people forget to take into consideration is that the overheads in a
township are much more than that
of a residential complex in the
city," adds Chordia. Apart from the
facilities, the maintenance and the
landscaping, self-sufficiency initiatives like having independent
plants for water treatment, sewage
treatment, solid waste management, need to be considered. Like
Chordia says," It is a lifestyle that
comes at a price. But more often
than not, it is well worth it."

I'VE LIVED IN AN INDEPENDENT HOME

FOR OVER 15 YEARS AND NEVER
KNOWN MY NEIGHBOURS AS WELL
AS THE ONES IN MY TOWNSHIP. THE
SECURITY AND THE MAINTENANCE IS
SUCH THAT MY PARENTS ARE NOT
WORRIED EVEN WHEN I DECIDE TO
TAKE A WALK AT 2AM. NO MATTER
WHAT THE TIME, THERE IS ALWAYS
SOMEONE AROUND,
AISHWARYA PARASURAM