TNS

In a market plagued by low sales, easy-payment plans rule Navratra offers dished out by developers

Plagued by low sales, delays and a prolonged slowdown in 2013, the realty sector is not likely to see a significant turnaround of fortunes this festival season also. Though the beginning of Navratras is traditionally seen as the beginning of auspicious period during which sale figures rise, this year industry experts are not very hopeful about the realty market moving northward during the October-December period.

“The shaky economic scenario and fund crunch have made investors cautious leading to a huge inventory overhang all over the country and the pace of new launches has also slowed down considerably. With investors as well as developers in a wait-and-watch mood the sales are not likely to go up substantially during the festival season this year”, says Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and Managing Director of CBRE, South Asia Pvt. Ltd. Along with this rising home loan rates and the RBI’s recent notification against subvention plans like the 80:20 scheme have also made the going tough for homebuyers as well as developers, he added.

While the overall sentiment may be subdued in festival season, several developers are offering schemes to lure the end users to finalise deals during this time. While gold coins, cars, free parking and club facilities, white goods or home amenities like modular kitchens etc feature in the Navratra offers this year, it is the easy-payment, assured returns plans that seem to be the flavour of the season this year. Developers are hoping to “lighten” their inventories through these offers but at the same time it is obvious that most players are just re-packaging normal offers to pass on as festival freebies.

With most of the developers sitting tight on the prices and not likely to offer direct monetary discounts or price cuts, homebuyers angling for a good deal can choose from convenient payment plans.

In an end-user driven market wherein a majority of the buyers are looking for options in the ~ 25 to 60 lakh price bracket, such a monetary “balm” is most likely to click with the prospective buyer. “Buyers who have been sitting on the fence and hoping for prices to drop or to get a good deal or discount are most likely to finalise deals at this time and a scheme that helps them save some money or ease the burden of EMIs is more preferred”, says Sanjeev Jindal, CEO of Barnala Realtech. The group is offering an easy-payment plus assured -return plan till October 15 to those booking flats in its Riverdale Apartments project in Zirakpur. A buyer can book a flat worth Rs 53 lakh for just Rs 8 lakh and make the balance payment at the time of possession besides getting an assured return per month. In a similar vein Sandwood Infratech Pvt Ltd. that has projects in Shimla, Kasauli, Baddi and Mohali is also offering 2.5 per cent higher rate of assured return to those who make the bookings for its Sandwood Euphoria Kasauli project.

Though RBI has recently cautioned banks against backing easy-payment plans like the 20:80 scheme, developers are offering more innovative plans as Navratra offers. NCR-based SVP Group is offering “50-50” payment scheme for its ‘Gulmohur Garden, Raj Nagar Extension project, Gulmohur Greens (Mohan Nagar) and Gulmohur Residency (Indrapuram). “In this flexible payment scheme a buyer has to pay only 50 per cent of apartment cost on booking and rest of 50 per cent is payable after possession”, says Vijay Jindal, CMD of the group.

The Supertech Group is offering a “No Strings Attached — 40:60 Scheme”. A specific number of flats in its different projects are on offer for delivery within six months. As per the scheme, the booking will be done on 40 per cent advance payment and the balance 60 per cent is to be paid at the time of possession after six months. According to R.K. Arora, CMD, Supertech Group, “this is a special edition offer for home buyers and investors intending to buy a flat of their choice at preferred locations”.

Another NCR-based group SG Estates Ltd. Is offering ‘Free Registration’ for ready-to-move in properties for its projects in Raj Nagar Extn. till October 31. “The company will bear the 7 per cent cost of stamp duty that has to be paid for property registration. The benefit is worth Rs .4.75 lakh for a 4 BHK flat”, informed Director of the group Gaurav Gupta.

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