Each city in India is undergoing a different experience due to the COVID-19-affected real estate market. While there's a slowdown in the property sale in metro cities, tier II and III cities have been witnessing a rise in the demand for housing properties due to various favourable factors. Considering the case of NCR's real estate with a focus in Gurgaon, the region sees a shift in consumer preference, and developers are making the most of this change.
The upscale region of Gurgaon has never failed to amaze the visitors with its innovative and futuristic high-rise buildings and sprawling skyscrapers along with other urbanised infrastructure. The Millennium City is always known for being active in catering constructed residential and commercial real estate projects, especially the ready-to-move-in spaces.
However, the COVID-19-hit industry has resulted in bringing plot projects in the forefront. Gurgaon's real estate developers with large land banks have shifted their focus from promoting luxury and constructed projects to launching residential plots. What makes it a profitable decision for the developers is:
• Increasing demand from the consumers.
• No construction costs.
• A tax benefit from the state government.
Moreover, the developers in Gurgaon are eligible to avail the benefits of Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna (DDJAY). In 2016, the Haryana government had announced an affordable plotted housing policy for low and medium potential towns, known as Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna. The policy was also extended to Gurgaon in 2019. Hence, under this policy, the developers in Gurgaon applying for licence get tax benefits and waiver on internal and external development charges.
Currently, around ten developers have reportedly availed the benefits of DDJAY and shifted their focus as per the consumer preference for affordable plotted properties. The ongoing tremendous response is likely to pull more developers who will benefit from this recent change in the Gurgaon's real estate market. Besides demand, the absence of heavy capital investment and consumption of relatively less time makes plot projects an attractive segment of real estate to indulge in for the developers.
The renowned developers, namely Raheja and DLF have welcomed the change. Learn from the below statements on how the developers' directors have expressed their views on the same:
Mr Nayan Raheja, Executive Director, Raheja Developers said, “There is a lot of demand and it is also easy to monetise. The plot starts as low as Rs 18.7 lakh with the size ranging between 68 and 144 square yards. This makes the product very affordable for homebuyers".
Mr Ashok Tyagi, Director, DLF said, “The difference being that in the last few months, there have been certain policy interventions by the Haryana government which have made the monetisation of these pieces slightly more friendly. And that’s what we are trying to leverage. We believe we have the right land bank to be able to launch these projects".