Real Estate India, Buy Property In India
HOME sale in India might have turned sluggish but sales to non-resident Indians (NRIs) are booming. According to Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj (JLLM), residential sales to NRIs have tripled over the last six month, from 3% to about 10% of total sales “what would happen when one loses his job in the US The downturn is scaring many NRIs who fear job cuts, “says JLLM’s Raminder Grover. “There is renewed interest in selling abroad,” says Lodha Group senior VP R Kartik. Many NRIs have been thinking of coming back to India and “many of them are making safety investment,” explains Mr. Kartik. Over the last few months, Lodha has seen a 25% increase in its sales to NRIs.
Sobha Developers has seen the share of NRI sales go up from 5% to 10% of its sales. “In the last six months, we have been selling about 25,000sq.ft.a month to NRIs,” says Sobha Developers MD Jagdish C Sharma. Selling to NRIs though is a very different proposition. “You need a different strategy for NRIs. To service the requirements of NRIs, you need to have your own representation in the target market,” says Mr. Kartik.
Omaxe has had road shows in the US, UK, Canada and Dubai to promote its residential projects and have representative offices, too. Omaxe VP marketing Vineet Nanda says, “NRIs made only about 3% of their total luxury apartment sale but today constitute about 10% a good chunk of their NRI sales comes from Middle East.”
For some like Tata Housing it is a much larger business. “We have not done any formal marketing of our properties in the international market but already 10-15% of our sales is to NRIs. When we start our promotions we expect this figure to go up to 25-30% of our total sales,” says Tata Housing CEO Brotin Banerjee. They have received a tremendous response from the US, UK and Canada for their projects in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, and Kolkata. “Many NRIs would like to have a place in India since the country is expected to tide over this downturn and would be a better place to work in the future,” says Mr. Banerjee. Propertymixer. Com CEO Minal Arora says a lot of NRIs who are considering coming back, are securing sales in India.
But not everybody thinks so. For Jayesh Desai, head, real estate Ernst &Young, these are purely investment sales. Well over 50% of NRI sales will be for investment. “With a downturn in the west, India is still a better market for investment. But if they don’t see returns, this segment will start going down too,” warns Desai. According to him, the reality is that the market in India is very tight and Indian speculative investors are out. “The share of the NRI market is higher because of this,” he says. Omaxe ED Vipin Aggarwal, too, subscribes to the same logic. “Most NRIs are buying in India only for investing and not for end-use,” he says.
For developers though, it is a good way to catch up on lost sales in the Indian market. With a big push, a number of developers from across the county are embarking on road shows in market where there is a large NRI presence. The favourites really are the Middle East, U.K. and the U.S. markets.
Courtesy: - ET dt.8.07.2008
Date: 09 July 2008, Wednesday
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