VOL. 07 | ISSUE 08 | 2021
Most
India's
Admired Real Estate Companies
Investment Dynamics Why Investing in Real Estate is Important? Real Estate & Pandemic Impact of Covid-19 on the Real Estate Market
Mr. Syed Hidayath Managing Director
A Promising Paradigm of Stability and Sustainability
Editor’s Note I
THE BOOM IS NOT FARAWAY
n its sweeping trail of destruction, the coronavirus pandemic sent across a glaring message to humankind – Home is where the heart is. A year of trials and turbulence made everyone realise the significance of this age-old adage, and property investment suddenly became the priority, next of course, to health. The invasion of the virus had slowed down the real estate market. After a lull of more than a year, the real estate market is all set to reaffirm its position and transform city skylines even further. As we gradually come out of the pandemic crisis with vaccination drives, the real estate market is expected to experience phenomenal growth. By 2025, real estate is touted to contribute up to 13% of India's gross domestic product. By 2040, the real estate sector is expected to grow by Rs 65,000 crore, a whopping leap from Rs 12,000 crore in 2019. The real estate sector is also the second-highest employment generator in the country, after agriculture. And now, with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approving the Real Estate Investment
Ananda Kamal Das
ananda@insightssuccess.com
Trust (REIT) platform, the sector is expected to see massive growth. All kinds of investors will be able to invest in the Indian real estate market, propelling it at the global level. While the construction and allied sectors were among the few permitted to operate after essential services during the ongoing pandemic, there is no denying that the challenges to bounce back are aplenty. Realtors are facing these and delivering their best. Technology has also been a great help. No sector could remain immune to technology. Real estate that was a slow starter in using technology could not remain aloof from it for long. Technology is changing the way real estate functioned, the way we buy and sell. Technology has ensured efficiency and transparency and has proved to be a blessing during the pandemic. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic automation have already percolated into the real estate ecosystem and are reliable means to evaluate properties in real time quickly. As of today, the sector looks promising despite the possibility of a third wave.
Real estate advisors also provide consulting, legal advisory, and many other value-added services. In our latest edition of Insights Success, India's Most Admired Real Estate Companies, 2021, we featured stellar companies who have been the frontrunners in the real estate market with their enduring, appealing and sustainable projects. They have been able to bring about client satisfaction through constant innovation coupled with quality. They have cemented themselves as industry leaders in residential, commercial, industrial, hospitality, or vacant land. We are sure you will enjoy reading this edition as much as we did during its making. Happy reading!
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Epitome Builders A PROMISING PARADIGM OF STABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
C o v e r S t o r y
A r t i c l e s
16 Real Estate Dynamics Why Investing in Real Estate is important?
26 Real Estate and Pandemic Impact of COVID-19 on the Real Estate Market
T r a n s f o r m i n g R e a l E s t a t e
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Justo
Unlocking Realistic Opportunities
24 ANAROCK Property Consultants A Leading Consultancy for Exclusive Spaces
28 Marathon Realty Redefining Real Estate for Good
Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Deputy Editor Abhishaj Sajeev Managing Editor Darshan Parmar
sales@insightssuccess.com
Assisting Editor Ananda Kamal Das
JULY, 2021
Contributing Writers Yash, Trishika
Chief Designer Priyanka Rajage Designing Head Vishal Pawar Co-designers Rashmi Singh
Operations Head Megha Mishra
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Company Name
Management
Brief
Anarock
Anuj Puri Chairman
ANAROCK is one of the leading real estate services company in India with diversified interests across real estate lifecycle
Dosti Realty
Nitin Nagpal Director
Dosti Realty brings to people one step closer to the most fulfilling experience of their lives
Epitome Builders (P) Ltd
Syed Hidayath Managing Director
Epitome Builders focuses on development entity, primarily focused on residential, commercial, and mixed-use development projects
Fairdeal Realtors
Ashok Gupta CEO
Fairdeal Realtors is a commercial property consultant who assists you in your search of properties or spaces in commercial real estate India
Gera Developments
Rohit Gera Managing Director
Gera Developments is one of the pioneers of the real estate business in Pune and are recognized as the creators of premium residential and commercial projects
Justo
Pushpamitra Das Founder Rahul Pande Founder
Justo is a technology driven real estate service organisation collaborating with leading developers across major markets in India
Marathon Realty
Mayur Shah Managing Director
Marathon Group is a real estate company which has an experience of more than 36 years and has developed more than 70 projects in Mumbai and Maharashtra
SNSGAP Infratech Pvt Ltd (SG Infra)
Satendra Singh Managing Director
With experience of more than a decade, SNSGAP Infratech holds an extensive portfolio that combines of international telecommunication, health industry, and real estate
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A PROMISING PARADIGM OF STABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
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Mr.Syed Hidayath Managing Director
India's Most Admired Real Estate Companies- 2021
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eing a prime advertiser in print media, real estate has inevitably acquainted with a long-term investment alternative for fabricating wealth and generating passive income. Over 90% of people leverage real estate to build equity for their future and gave rise to a reliable flow of cash while doing the investment in the right way. With the usage of the right technology and the right analytical approach to making a profit out of the purchased or rented property, investors have seen rapid growth and better scope in real estate investments. With the introduction of economic policy reforms by the government, the real estate industry expects a great potential for both investors and developers in the coming future. Numerous pioneers in real estate are out there that exhibit a system of transparency and accountability with the sector making it a leading choice for market capitalization. Epitome Builders Private Limited – an alluring model of design and delivery – was incepted in 2008 as development and construction projects company to bring value addition and to forward integrate as the demand for quality real estate accelerated. Being a privately held company, Epitome was established as a construction arm with a specific focus on the residential market and emphasis on the modern lifestyle of home seekers of the new millennium. Epitome Builders is a Bangalore-based real estate development entity, primarily focused on sustainable development of residential, commercial, and mixed-use development projects. The company’s residential focus extends from luxury apartments to premium villas and
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plotted development. Ever since its inception, Epitome has consistently strived towards being a trusted real estate brand with a strong emphasis on design, quality, engineering, customercentric approach and uncompromising business ethics.
Founded with a passion to excel and break the boundaries of the conventional approach, Epitome has taken an evident path towards achieving ‘Customer Delight’. The fundamentals of functional design, luxury amenities, international brands, smart home technology and sustainable features are thoughtfully and meticulously embedded into every Epitome home to transform the lifestyle and provide an enriched and peaceful living experience. Mr. Syed Hidayath - Managing Director, an innovator with 20 years of expertise in management and leadership skills, ensures that the core to build an outstanding and inspiring company emanates from people and
the impactful process. Proactive with all aspects of the business from continuous market research, Mr. Syed is endowed with excellence in understanding the market, identifying opportunities, feasibility studies, building partnerships and teams to deliver as planned. Passionately striving towards the early adoption of technological innovations and ideas, he is making every Epitome project at par with those in the developed world. Refining with Flexibility Challenges in real estate are aplenty. Starting from lack of planning and infrastructure, bureaucratic hurdles and changing policies, high-interest rates, out-dated city development plans to real estate yet to get the industry status despite being the highest employer and contributors towards the GDP. All of the above make it a high-risk sector that only a few with long-term approach and mitigated planning can sustain. The market was already
“ sluggish after the demonetization and implementation of GST and RERA. In addition to that, Covid -19 pandemic amplified pain and had a significant impact on the availability of labour, material supplies, liquidity and most significantly diminished demand for homes for two quarters until Oct ’20. The demand however has increased in Q3/Q4 of 2020 with many driving factors from the government stimulus, reduced interest rates and lucrative offers from builders. Home-buyers started taking advantage of several benefits and End-users who were financially braced and were planning to buy a home shortly took a jump towards home ownership. This was evident across all markets and segments that indicated a revival for
“ There is always a consistent opportunity to urbanize the space in a sustainable manner.
real estate in the months ahead. Infact, owning a home is on high priority not just in India but globally. Referring to Bengaluru, the city’s residential sector, which experienced significant improvement in property sales and enquiries during the Q1 of 2021 was subdued in Q2 due to the second wave of Covid-19 but is expected to witness demand momentum in Q3 backed by rising end user demand particularly for mid-segment projects. Pandemic and Growth Expectations
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Without a doubt, the impact of the pandemic was most significant on the construction industry. However, the two major aspects that reduced the impact on our ongoing project were first, – the modular construction that reduced the workforce by half in comparison to conventional construction and secondly, having the labour camp within the construction site with all the required facilities and prioritising the well-being of everyone at the project site.
regulations for just about every industry, especially multifamily housing. So it’s no surprise that residents are interested in touchless systems for high traffic areas and capacity limits for areas like gyms and clubhouses. Residents who desire a greater sense of security, safety and wellness are willing to pay for premium amenities such as touchless entry, contact tracing, tracking of community space cleaning, and contactless delivery facilitation etc.
2020 has seen a massive shift towards increased health and safety concerns in apartment living trends. This has led to calls for changes in systems and
The pandemic also brought into focus the location of the property as a focal point since high-density localities and Covid-19 hotspots are now a new
concern. As WFH becomes a norm, with the evolution of technological capabilities, people have a preference for suburbs with greenery, less pollution, and bigger apartment sizes together with daily conveniences. After spending an extended amount of time at home, there is a need to have more space for a home office or study area. Therefore, developers are now tweaking their under-construction projects to incorporate these elements. Homebuyers now are certainly going to embrace homes that are future-ready and sustainable.
Without a doubt, pandemic has highlighted the importance of a home and a new vision of comfort for Indians, which earlier preferred renting, is paying heed. They are now sincerely looking at home ownership, which is a tremendous shift that arrived about in less than three months, jumping from 40% to 55 percent, according to Anarock property consultants. Unfolding Advancement With an in-depth understanding of today’s markets, customer preferences and technological advancements, it's
high time to gear up for new opportunities. As with reducing inventory and project launches turnaround in the residential segment is expected to happen soon. With an optimistic outlook due to changing needs, the team of Epitome Builders is focused to add new projects, enter new micro-markets, and increase market presence in the short term. With the sector undergoing challenging times, huge opportunities have been observed that need to be well-capitalized.
“ Through a combination of equity and debt, investments in new projects have to be well-timed to take advantage of a counter-cyclical investment strategy, strengthen the development of the business pipeline designed for the next few years. Overall, the real estate sector has exhibited rapid transformation with technological advancements in the last decade. It is therefore essential to always be ready in adapting to the changing needs of modern lifestyle requirements. Also, belonging to a background of strong engineering insight, it is fundamental to make
every building future-ready, reduce construction time, improve quality and have amenities to transform the lifestyle of homeowners. Epitome Elan – an aspiring and potential project has set a benchmark in the mid-segment by offering modular construction, functional space planning, smart home technology, international brands, sustainable features and a host of world-class amenities along with daily conveniences. With the introduction of Elan, all homes are now equipped with a host of amenities, a dedicated work/study area in each room along with a provision for high speed connectivity and complete home automation. This 360-degree approach to ensure a lasting asset and a peaceful living experience has significantly increased acceptability of the longing projects and has resulted in several awards in the recent past. Epitome Builders is committed to building value and creating communities of the future.
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Real Estate Dynamics
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ivilization has been an integral part of humans because it has evolved as humans did. Humans are constantly making necessary changes to the structures to meet up the developmental requirements. Back in the time, Indus Valley Civilisation was India's first well-planned structure. Now, India has beautiful infrastructures situated in different places across the country. The term real estate is used for modern-day infrastructural development. Real estate mainly includes four types i.e., Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Land.
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Earth has an enormous landmass which accentuates the scope of development. As far as there are vacant spaces on the earth, there are opportunities for real estate expansion and progress. When a city is planned then the outskirts of it start to fill up the vacant spaces to foster the needs of people.
Not only houses but organisations or manufacturing units buy lands to carry on their marketplaces and productions. New start-ups are rising, new brands are emerging and so does opportunities for real estate are rising. These brands need spaces to incorporate their products and services.
This is because people start to buy lands for residential or industrial purposes. This is done to fulfil the customer demands. Real estate assures expansion as far as the human population is increasing. The future of real estate can be predicted by considering the speedy growth in the industry.
For industrial needs, large land acquisition is done near the cities to function the manufacturing process. Employees work in the industries which later give rise to residential development near that company for the employees to stay. When employee number increases then commercial development comes into action, business centres and rental spaces emerge to fulfil the demands of the employees. This creates a whole economy altogether. This way, the land rates near the area rise.
Why invest in real estate? Investing in real estate is very important if one wants to grow their assets. Real estate is proved to be one of the exceptional sectors for investing other than stocks. There is severe fluctuation in the stock market, but the real estate market has its prices to move straight up. The prices per square foot in developed, as well as underdeveloped areas, are bound to go higher as time passes by. The rates of properties may go stagnant for a while, but it will never depreciate. It can be said that prices of real estate are proportional with time. People work their entire life to live in their desired self-bought homes. This action is seen in humans. As the population is rising new set of demand is rising for real estate development.
Investing in the estate market will create opportunities to make passive income. The price at which a property is bought might not be the same a few years later. It can multiply according to the entities it has around it. Buying properties and renting them can be a good source of income. Why investing in real estate is important? As the demands are increasing, people must start investing in real estate. The country can see significant growth if people put their money in properties, this then increases demand and supply. There will be more scope for development in the country. Therefore, there will be overall growth of the economy. Also, to maintain a fixed side
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income, real estate renting can give better recurring returns, so that people need not have to worry about money in their retirement period. The pandemic can be a good time to invest money in real estate. This is because the prices have dropped sharply; in the post-pandemic period, these prices will start to rise. Real estate investment trust (REIT) is a good way to invest in real estate trusts or companies. It is like investing in companies, which develops and promotes real estate markets. Many property management companies provide services like rent collection, property maintenance, financing, etc. Property management companies ensure that the owner does not have to worry about every process that is involved in renting business, right from tenant moving in the property till the tenant vacates the property. The future of real estate seems to be good as far as people want their separate homes to live. In the coming years, there will be lack of space on earth to satisfy the needs of individuals. The land will be occupied with larger spaces. - Yash Yashwante
Justo
Unlocking Realistic Opportunities
Real estate developers play an important role in the industry as they bridge the gap between the demand and supply for dwelling home units, office space and Industrial parts. They enhance the value of the project in terms of functional, design, construction, and comfort of owning the space. One such renowned company that is providing a facelift to the real estate industry is Justo. As a real estate service organization operating currently from Mumbai and Pune and will soon be expanding to the markets across the country. The company was founded by professionals from the real estate sales, financial and service industry, who have worked with large corporates at very senior positions. They have designed and developed customized delivery models that are instrumental in creating value for
developers and their clients. Built on the principles of advice, create, and nurture, Justo has been successful in creating unique business, marketing, sales and financial strategies coupled with excellence in execution leading to long term relationships with developers across multiple asset classes in the real estate segment.
Delivering a Plethora of Services and Solutions
The management states, "We are a knowledge partner, enhancing the overall capability of the developer to achieve profitable, sustainable growth and adding significant value for its brand.”
1. Marketing & Sales - Driven by passion, experience, and strong domain knowledge, team Justo has been introducing products into the market, with access to market information, real-time market insights, and research-based manoeuvres. These manoeuvres are customized, innovative, and technology-driven marketing and sales solutions. They amplify developer offering, strengthen developer’s fund and equity, create buyer experience, and augment sales to build a successful delivery model of real estate like residential, commercial, retail, and warehousing, etc.
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We are trying to bridge the gap between buyers and developers in terms of product offerings, and brand positioning
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eal estate has a very wide connotation comprising of land along with all improvements carried out there on with water, crops, trees and natural resources like minerals on the said land. Traditionally real estate can be categorized into four types of asset classes: land, residential, commercial, and industrial.
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Justo provides numerous services and solutions to its customers. It aims to achieve excellence through its dedicated endeavours. Some of the various services provided by the company include the following:
2. Cash flow and fund management Justo is well connected with all leading private and PSU banks, NBFCs, HNIs, and PE investors that are open to real estate funding. Helmed by industry veterans, it has the expertise and deep understanding of the need for cash flow requirements, and help raising of funds for debt, equity, mezzanine in various asset classes.
Mr. Pushpamitra Das
Mr. Rahul Pande
The Dedicated Founders The foundation stone of Justo was laid in 2019 by two seasoned veterans in the field of real estate- Mr. Pushpamitra Das (Pushp) and Mr. Rahul Pande, together with over five decades of experience across real estate and financial services.
Pushp, has over three decades of experience across diversified industries at senior leadership positions, helmed and converted numerous budding ideas into successful companies. In the real estate sector, he had led organisations across all functions including strategy, sales and marketing, large scale fundraising, project fund allocation,
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fund management, cash flow and execution. He has been associated with companies and brands like Rustomjee, Piramals, Bombay Realty, Wadia Group, Essar etc. at very senior management levels and has created multiple leaders with over 20 CXO’s employed today with large, reputed organizations. Pushp has been a
mentor, advisor, and investor in multiple start-ups and has worked closely with few tech-based real estate and mobility start-ups. Rahul comes with a deep understanding of the nuances of real estate development, strategy, sales and marketing. He has developed a strong P&L mind-set over the years and has served in the varied organization across geographies in India and the Middle East. His exposure spreads over organizations as Kotak Bank and HDFC Bank in the financial sector and Lodha Developers, Bombay Realty, and Damac Properties in the real estate segments. Mr. Rahul, a people person, has a unique ability to attract talent and groom them to be leaders in their field of work. Facing Challenges with Positivity The management states that putting forth their vision and explaining the concepts to the people, attracting, retaining, and bringing the best output of the talent and changing the mindset of the developers are some of the major challenges that they have faced. They further believe that making developers understand the new methods of doing business, which has the benefit of improved cash flows, reduction of cost and working capital takes time to sink into the mind of a developer. Putting in the Best Efforts Team Justo helps in the development of complete business, marketing, sales, and financial strategy for the developers. It also executes them successfully so that a developer gets ample time to focus on land, legal approval, and construction related
issues. The company converts developers' fixed overheads and time related overheads to variables and thus takes away the pain points of developer servicing time-related overheads when not required. Team Justo reviews the entire life cycle of the customer, and all this has led to earlier and enhanced cash inflows out of the project. Besides, enhancing brand positioning, brand perception, and ORM, along with communication strategy. Opinions about Technological Advancements The company believes that from driving business decisions to creating better consumer experiences, big data analysis, machine learning have enabled it to target clients with the right products and position products in the most effective manner. It opines that harnessing big data is an invaluable tool in targeting the right buyers and an important element in refining the real estate process. As per the management, virtual reality (VR) enables customers to tour predevelopment or ready house units from anywhere in the world. Justo is using the technology to give their prospective clients a feel of the product virtually. Using real-time technology and devices, like the Samsung Gear VR Virtual Reality headset, real estate developers can show off the progress of the houses under development as well as completed units. Through the power of virtual reality, Justo allows prospective buyers to walk through and experience the space even before the construction has started. Automating its customer relationship management, portfolio management, and facilities management, Justo has
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been able to address the challenges such as cost efficiency and communication between different stakeholders. Standing Tall During the Pandemic The management states that it has been a challenge to deal with the customers during the pandemic. It has been difficult to get the customers to visit the sites. Accordingly, Justo reached out to them to showcase the product through multiple channels, including digital platforms, and helped the developer to achieve sales. "We have implemented unique hygienic, safe methods and processes while reaching out to the customers and dealing with them," states the management. Taking the Next Step Justo, promoted by professionals with experience in handling scale of operations. It has grown from a team of 10 to a team of 220 professionals in just 18 months, with its base at: Mumbai and Pune, in less than two years. The company will soon expand to other metros, namely NCR, Bengaluru, and Kolkata, and add at least 200 more professionals in the next 12 months.
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ANAROCK Property Consultants A Leading Consultancy for Exclusive Spaces
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roperty consultants are people that specialize in assisting investors and sellers in making informed property buying decisions. In fulfilling their job description, property consultants scout and locate investors with property consulting needs. They contact these clients via phone and email to provide consulting services. They usually plan and deliver business plans to clients in order to persuade them of the value of their services and land a consultancy contract. Property consultants keep an eye on the market for both old and new properties. They are in charge of placing properties on the market, which they do by promoting and selling the property through different media and advertising platforms. Real estate services are services which provide the purchase, sale, lease, rental, or appraisal of real property. The ANAROCK Group is India's leading specialized real estate services company with diversified interests across the real estate value chain. The Group Chairman of ANAROCK, Anuj Puri, is a highly respected industry veteran and India’s most prominent thought leader in the real estate domain. He has over 30 years' expertise in leveraging Indian and global real estate opportunities. He is a highly respected industry veteran and India's most prominent real estate thought leader. He was Chairman and Country Head of a leading international property consultancy prior to launching ANAROCK in 2017. ANAROCK was launched after the entire residential operations of a leading international property consultancy was acquired and rebranded. The business model is largely based on exclusive
project mandates, wherein the Firm gets the exclusive mandate to sell a particular housing project. Initially focused solely on residential, ANAROCK soon expanded to include ANAROCK Retail, ANAROCK Capital, Land Services, Strategic Consulting, and commercial strata sales, among others. Today, it is the leading independent multi-services real estate consultancy in the country. ANAROCK Group’s key strategic business units are Residential Broking & Advisory, Retail, Investment Banking, Hospitality, Land Services, Warehousing, Industrial & Logistics, Investment Management and Strategic Advisory & Valuations. In an interview with Insights Success, Anuj Puri, Chairman of ANAROCK shares with us his views and thoughts about the real estate domain. Mentioned below are the highlights of the interview: What kind of challenges has the company and its team faced while being in the real estate business? ANAROCK was launched on a strong foundation of pre-existing clientele and is staffed by the industry’s most accomplished veterans. There were the usual teething problems, which any new firm must face before attaining an even keep and hitting its growth curve. The competition was fierce but it took less than a year for ANAROCK to emerge as the leading real estate consultancy, and to become profitable. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic initially slowed down the real estate business, but it soon emerged that commercial and retail real estate were the only real laggards. Residential began picking up in a very short time after the first period of slowdown. In FY 202-21, ANAROCK turned a very healthy profit, which
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exceeded the previous year by a sizeable margin. Real estate industry in India has been seeing a huge competition in past decade. What unique services or features your company offers to stand out in this competition? ANAROCK was one of the first consultancies to employ its own proprietary technology to support its business. Having this first-mover advantage was a game changer. The Firm has consistently surpassed the competition in terms of technology adoption and continued acquiring techbased businesses even during the pandemic. What does the future look like for your company in terms of growth and expansion? ANAROCK acquired several techdriven real estate businesses in the last 12 months, apart from partnering with two international players for services expansion. If this was our pace of expansion during a pandemic year, our plans for the future may well be imagined. The recent COVID-19 pandemic hit hard every industry including Real Estate. The issue of migrant workers has been the major concern for the governments. What has been your company’s approach to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic challenges? The development and construction sectors were badly hit by the migrant worker crisis during the first lockdown. Since ANAROCK is not active in construction except at an advisory level, the firm was not as impacted as developers were. In fact, the reduced supply pipeline helped ANAROCK to sell even more properties as demand
India's Most Admired Real Estate Companies- 2021
Pandemic put forth the importance of home ownership. The government has also taken the measures to support the real estate industry. How do you plan to take on these opportunities to make the mark in Real estate space? The government has indeed been supportive to the housing sector. The appetite for homeownership scaled up significantly on the back of several initiatives and policy-based booster shots that the government rolled out. Being on the forefront of technologybacked real estate marketing, ANAROCK was able to market a staggering number of properties during the period of these benefits – and will continue to do so even beyond them. The pandemic has indeed pushed homeownership to the top of most Indians’ priority list and the field of opportunity is vast and fertile.
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quickly began catching up with the existing supply. This was largely enabled by our technology-driven marketing strategies.
TECHNOLOGY will emerge as the STRONGEST-EVER enabler for the REAL ESTATE BUSINESS
Anuj Puri Chairman
According to you, what postpandemic trends will emerge in Real Estate in 2021? Technology will emerge as the strongest-ever enabler for the real estate business. Those who have failed to adopt it in time will find themselves at a serious disadvantage. Even the government has backed the stronger evolution of tech-driven real estate marketing by beginning to enable property registrations at select developers’ offices. Another factor we will see emerge stronger is the desire for bigger homes, which can comfortably accommodate critical new trends like work from home and study from home. We will see well-connected suburbs overtake central locations in terms of demand, as choosing these locations allows buyers to opt for larger homes.
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Real Estate and Pandemic
Impact of
C VID-19 on the
Real Estate Market
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he Covid-19 pandemic brought down the economy of the whole world, as governments all over the globe put strict restrictions on travel to stop the fast-spreading virus from transferring further. As a result of the strict travel restrictions and also the fear among people due to the lethal virus, all economic activities came to a screeching halt. Predictions were made that with the ongoing spread of the virus, the global GDP would contract to 5.2% in 2020, which meant for the world to go through a global recession. As bad as the pandemic was in terms of death toll for the Indian state, it also severely impacted the overall economy of the country. Similar to the serious downfall of GDP in almost every country, India also experienced its GDP rate going towards the negative scale. Except for a few economic sectors, which surprisingly saw a huge surge in their growth, others were struggling to catch a breath trying to cope with the negative effects of the pandemic. The Indian real estate sector is one of the sectors that was worst hit by the strict lockdowns that were imposed by the Indian government. Right from the residential real estate to the commercial and industry real estate, all the segments of the industry suffered heavily due to the fall in demand for real estate property amid the pandemic. The real estate sector was constantly growing in India before the pandemic hit the whole world. The real estate sector is one of the most globally recognized sectors and in India it holds the 4th rank among the 14 most contributing sectors of the Indian
economy. In a developing nation like India, real estate market has great potential. The industry is well complimented by the exponential growth in the corporate world in urban and semi-urban regions. The real estate sector also generates second-highest employment in the country, coming up right behind the agriculture sector. This booming sector severely plummeted when the country first went into a lockdown during the first wave. The residential property sales dipped down because acquiring property did not count among people's priority anymore, adding to that even the office space leasing companies faced a huge loss because of the remote working concept during the lockdown. The sector did pick up pace after the country started going back to normal after the 1st wave until the 2nd wave hit the country again. The second wave proved to be more fatal than the first one to the country as it seriously harmed the still recovering industry. The demand for flexible workspaces surged during and after the pandemic which was another huge blow to the sector. Even the commercial real estate got affected as people started being wary of visiting places like malls, cinema halls, shops, etc. According to the industry experts, even though the first and second wave hit the industry badly, they see a gradual recovery in the market and a hope for the future. It is predicted by the industry experts that by the year 2040, real estate market in India will grow to US $9.30 billion from US $1.70 billion, which is a very huge development. The real estate market in
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India is also expected to reach a market size of whooping US $1 trillion, by 2030. This accounts to 13% contribution to the country's GDP by 2025. The 1st wave also made people realise the importance of owning their own house, and as the country recovers from the devastation caused by the pandemic, people are encouraged to invest in real estate market for home security. The government also promotes the industry by tax deductions on housing loans, which will create an interest in people to invest in the industry. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has also given permission to Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) platform, which allows all kinds of investors to invest in the industry. The industry insiders predict the real estate sector to do really well with the SEBI allowing all kinds of investors to invest in the market. A growth opportunity of US $19.65 billion is predicted for the upcoming years in the real estate market. The central government of India plans to build 20 million affordable houses across the country in the year 2021 in an ambitious scheme to ensure people home security. All these factors indicate towards a prosperous financial growth of the real estate market in the coming years. In a country like India, which has immense potential of economic growth, real estate market will play a significant role in taking the country towards zeniths. - Trishika Rokade
Marathon Realty
Redefining Real Estate for Good
We have built our legacy over the last 52 years through meticulous attention to detail and cutting-edge engineering practices
T
he largest real estate developers in India shape the future of cities and define the city skyline. The choices they make impact the growth and shape of cities and have a huge impact on infrastructure as well. Leading developers also set standards of price, quality, service, and delivery in property markets.
One such leading real estate developer in India is Marathon Realty. It is a 52-year-old, Mumbai based real estate development company that has completed over 80 projects in the city and has built homes for over 10,000 families. The company was established in 1969 and for the first couple of decades it played a key role in shaping the Mulund skyline. The company witnessed exponential growth starting from the 90’s by venturing into new locations like Lower Parel and Panvel and new categories like townships and affordable housing.
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India's Most Admired Real Estate Companies- 2021
Marathon Realty’s rapid expansion continues today. It is currently building several townships in the fastest growing neighborhoods, affordable housing projects, ultra-luxury skyscrapers, small offices, and large business centers. The company’s projects are spread across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) at locations including Mulund, Bhandup, Panvel, Dombivli, Byculla, and Lower Parel. The Focused Frontrunner The MD of Marathon Group, Mr. Mayur Shah has played a key role in taking Marathon Realty to new heights of success. He has played an instrumental role in the growth of the company. His vision and foresight enabled Marathon Realty to acquire large land parcels at promising locations like Panvel, Bhandup, and Dombivli at an early stage, which gave the company a huge advantage. Under his leadership, Marathon quickly recognized the potential of mill lands undergoing redevelopment in the city and the potential of locations on the outskirts of Mumbai like Panvel, Badlapur and Dombivli. Under Mr. Shah’s leadership, Marathon has also been relentlessly designdriven and engineering-focused, with the customer and quality of product at the forefront of all its decisions. Mr. Shah is a technocrat and has pushed the envelope when it comes to technology adoption in the construction sector as well. He has also served as the Chairman of MCHI – CREDAI, the largest body of Real Estate Developers in Mumbai and MMR.
Mayur Shah
MD of Marathon Group
The company has detailed websites and shares regular project updates. Its mantra is to under-commit and overdeliver. Tackling Challenges Efficiently
A Class Apart Marathon Realty excels in identifying the future potential of land before the rest of the market catches on - that gives it a huge competitive edge. It was one of the first entrants in Panvel, one of the first to redevelop mill land near South Mumbai, and has also entered early into the Bhandup market, which is ripe for disruption via slub rehabilitation development. Marathon Realty focuses on quality of construction; this also gives it a competitive edge. The projects that it has completed are a testament to its quality of work. The company is also very transparent with its customers and has built a legacy of trust – it shares fair and accurate prices, shows only product images, and does not use stock images.
Marathon Realty has overcome a wide array of challenges in the last few decades. Some of them include the financial crisis of 2008, operational challenges posed by the advent of RERA, the new GST regime and regulatory hurdles, and most recently the crisis caused by the coronavirus. Each time, the company has risen to the challenge and emerged stronger due to the strong leadership team, and a clear and focused strategy. Marathon Realty’s diversified portfolio ranging from affordable to ultra-luxury and commercial to retail gives it an edge when it comes to weathering storms in any particular segment. The company’s focus on operational excellence has allowed it to quickly adapt to the changes posed by RERA, GST, and new regulations.
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Facing the Pandemic Bravely Just like any other company, Marathon Realty also had to contend with the challenges imposed by the covid-19 pandemic. The immediate priority of the company during the lockdown was to provide relief and support to its labor force. Like all other developers, it also faced major challenges of labor shortage and material shortage due to supply chain disruptions. However, a lot of Marathon Realty’s labor is located in situ; hence, it was able to resume work quickly with a strong focus on completing the projects. “We managed to complete several projects and even received the Occupation Certificate for several towers during the pandemic”, said Mr. Samyag Shah, Director, Marathon Realty. Embracing Technology for Better Outcomes Marathon Realty has always been an early adopter of cutting-edge construction technology and has a history of firsts.
technology. It was the first developer in Mumbai to offer eregistration services to its clients, where clients can register their agreements from the comfort of our office. Marathon Realty has enhanced its customer experience by utilizing chat bots, virtual tours, and virtual reality experiences. The company is constantly looking at innovating and adopting technology that improves its customer experience. Future Footprints Speaking about the future, team Marathon Realty states that the future looks extremely promising for the company. The company has ambitious plans to transform Bhandup into an affordable residential hub with proposed development of over 100 acres. “We have large land parcels in Thane, Bhandup, Panvel and Dombivli and our township projects will continue to grow for years to come”, asserts the management. The company also has plans to develop several large commercial projects in Mulund and South Mumbai.
It built the first building with an elevator and the first high rise in Mulund. The company was amongst the first to adopt the revolutionary MIVAN formwork construction
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