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Journalism of Courage
Owning a home has now got easier. Left with no buyer in the real estate market, builders and developers are now targeting the middle-class and its 8216;affordability8217; factor with slashed rates and attractive offers
The middle-class buyer perpetually on a hunt for an 8220;affordable8221; property may finally see an end to the wait to own a home. The realty market is waking up to the reality that overpricing does not pay for long. With the market gripped by fears of recession and thanks to a general slowdown in the demand for real estate, the seller 8212; builders and developers 8212; is now forced to look beyond the investors. Hence, the target is now the middle-class buyer whose priority is affordability, which translates into a dip in the prices.
The realty developers are either advertising the slashed prices or are open to negotiations. Some realtors are even going one step further and offering innovative schemes to lure the prospective middle-class buyer.
The open offer
It8217;s all over the newspapers and local radio stations. Prominent builders are openly offering their products at substantially lower rates, targeting the 8220;affordability8221; factor. For Rs 12 to 15 lakh, a price unheard of till recently, you can now own a two-bedroom flat in the periphery 8212; Kharar, Banur and Dera Bassi.nbsp;nbsp;
Open to negotiations
Some builders are, however, not open to the idea of advertising that the prices are being slashed. But they are ready for a 10 to 20 per cent cut on the total price of the flats, built-up houses, and even plots.
8220;We had to shelve our plan to buy a house two years ago as the builder was not ready to compromise on the price. The same builder called up a few days ago and requested us to meet him if we are still interested in the flat. This time around, he is very flexible on the price issue. He says we can discuss the matter and settle on a price that suits both of us. Other builders and property dealers, too, are offering such flexibility. Our options as buyers have increased manifold,8221; said Manmohan Dhindsa, a resident of Panchkula.
8220;The hike in the interest rates for home loans, and the general increase in the construction costs in the last one year had made owning a house a very expensive proposition. As a result, there was no buyer left in the market. To woo them back, we are forced to offer discounts. We cannot openly say this, but are slashing prices during individual negotiations with each buyer,8221; said a builder based in Dhakoli, Zirakpur, who did not want to be named.
Innovative inducements
Suffering from the acute liquidity crunch, and consequently forced to stop the construction work on their projects, the builders are now willing to cut down on the rates by 10 to 20 per cent if the buyer pays a substantial part of the total price in cash as down payment.
8220;The prospective buyers know that the developers, both local and the national ones, are now ready to negotiate the prices. They enquire about the projects accordingly,8221; said Gurpreet Singh, a property consultant in Chandigarh.
A residential project coming up in Mohali on the Landran-Kharar road is offering a discount of up to Rs 400 per square feet if the buyer opts to pay a large chunk at the time of buying the property.
Projects in the same area are even offering to pay the equated monthly instalments EMI on a home loan for two years on behalf of the buyer. In this case, the buyer has to pay 20 per cent of total price in cash at the time of booking. The buyer will have the option to either sell the property after two years, or start paying the EMI, depending upon its current market value.
Re-launch
The growing trend of re-launching a project gives another opportunity to the buyer to get properties at comparatively lower rates. Several projects have been re-packaged according to the changed market situation with lowered prices and attractive offers for the buyers to choose from.
