Akshaya Tritiya: Good Time for End-users to Buy Property in Mumbai Akshaya Tritiya (Akha Teej) is on May 2nd and will be celebrated across the country. Every festival brings with it a hope for developers for increased sales. In Mumbai too, where the market has been stagnant and sales have been slow in the past one year, realtors are hoping to increase sales during the festival. But the ongoing General Elections may also impact sales during this auspicious time as people may prefer to wait and watch. However, for endusers it may prove to be a good time to buy property as builders may be open for negotiations and offer various schemes and freebies. Importance of Akshaya Tritiya Property market in many Indian cities is largely driven by high demand during festive seasons such as Gudi Padwa and Akshaya Tritiya (Akha Teej) as they are considered auspicious for purchasing as well as creation of wealth and fortune. Often it is seen that buyers who wait to take the plunge into the realty market come out and make purchases during the festive seasons. This is also because builders offer several schemes and discounts during this period. However, over the last one year, buyer sentiments in Mumbai has been significantly low owing to various reasons and investors have taken a back seat. As a result, there is a huge inventory pile up in the city. Even during other festive seasons such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali, sales had been reasonably low as compared to previous years. “This Akshaya Tritiya, too, Mumbai’s realty sector may not really see a major change in trend. This is primarily because of the current Lok Sabha (LS) elections. Lots of hope is pinned on the outcome of the elections. The Mumbai realty market will largely depend on the formation of government at the Centre. Currently, the buyers and investors are confused,” says Rajendra Karia, past president of Association of Real Estate Agents (AREA Group), Mumbai. Property prices are high and people are following the wait-and-watch policy. More importantly, construction costs are significantly high and have not been reduced.
“Buyers are hoping that the recent change in the FSI norms in Mumbai might bring in some reduction in prices, thereby giving them a reason to wait and watch. But developers, on their part, are still hopeful and may lure customers with various discounts, schemes and freebies during this season. This will give end-users a good chance for negotiations,” he adds. Attractive areas to buy in Mumbai during Akshaya Tritiya The property prices within Mumbai are very high as compared to other metros. The developers are not ready to bring down prices and the buyers are also not ready to take the plunge. As a result, genuine buyers and investors have turned towards the outskirts of Mumbai where prices are relatively cheaper than most of the localities within the city. “From the end-user perspective, areas to watch out for during this festive season include Mira Road, Vasai to Virar and up to Palghar. Kalyan-Dombivali stretch and Badlapur are also good from an end-user perspective. Nerul is emerging as a good affordable location for property buying as well,” states Karia. From an investor’s perspective too, the same localities are good viable options. This is mainly because these localities are comparatively more affordable than most within the city and the current trend shows that investors are now more inclined towards low ticket prices than high ticket prices. This shift has been seen in most major cities across the country. Advantages of property selection during festive time Festive season is usually the time when builders offer various schemes, freebies or good deals. As a result, buyers can negotiate well with builders, especially in the present scenario when sentiments are already very low and sales have fallen drastically. But buyers need to be cautious and not get lured by the offers made by builders. Schemes and offers also vary from builder to builder. The best way to avail the best deal during this festive season is to select your preferred locality as mentioned above. Then talk to your selected builder a week in advance because several developers may not openly publicise the deals on offer. But on specific query, they may be willing to negotiate. It is better that buyers do their homework from beforehand. Ready-to-move-in vs New Launched property in current situation Currently, the general trend seen in most cities including Mumbai is that buyers, particularly end-users, are opting for ready-to-move-in property or a property which would be ready for possession within the next 4-6 months. This is a far better and viable option because of various reasons. By buying such properties, the buyer is actually mitigating construction risk. Several
newly launched projects are often seen getting delayed owing to multiple reasons including change in government policies affecting the construction, developer fund crunch, increase of construction cost etc. Eventually the customer has to bear the brunt. Thus, to reduce risks it becomes imperative that he opts for ready-to-move-in property or soon to be ready property. “In the wake of the general elections in the country, it is natural that various new projects or certain re-development projects are stuck and not getting approvals. As a result, ready-to-move in property is a far safer bet,” Karia adds. However, from investment perspective, newly launched projects may be a better option as the money has to be paid at regular installments and the buyer also enjoys a fair price deal. But the investor must be very careful about the builder credibility and his previous records. While most Grade A builders may be a safe bet, there are a few small developers who may take buyers for a ride. Therefore, buyers must do a thorough check before taking the plunge.
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