The industry body Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) has thus far failed to act against the erring builders. They had only been vocal with a resolve to suspend the members who have repeatedly gone back on promises to buyers.
Secondary market attracts a significant number of transactions and as per a rough estimate nearly two third home buyers get an apartment in the secondary market.
Second home market is a new phenomenon in urban India but has emerged as a sunrise market in cities like Mumbai. With the ever changing trends the demand for holiday homes has varied according to the consumer’s needs and tastes amongst various cities. Hence, there cannot be a one size fits all answer to the dilemma of location or affordability. For many a second home in India is housing which offers opulent living spaces and ultra-modern luxurious amenities; whereas for others it is a safe investment.
Track2Realty explains how an aggrieved homebuyer can file complaint before the consumer court. Gaurav Gupta, a homebuyer, was subject to dual cheating when he bought the house. Not only was he forced to pay additional amount for no fault of his but also the apartment had serious construction and seepage issue. He finally filed a complaint with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).
The buyers can also check whether the developer has put in place systems that manage household waste and construction waste, reuse of salvaged material and recycling. For example, some of the developers are using garbage chute that collects the food waste of residents and transfers it to the compost machines to make compost for the green area maintenance. These are the features that really make a project environment friendly and the buyer can ask for these details in writing.
Reports of price correction, more often than not, seem to conceal more than it reveal on the pulse of the property barometer. The answer as to whether this is the right time to buy is not a simple yes or no, but it depends on a number of factors like whether a buyer is looking for first or second house, for living or investment, if investment then it is for the long run or short run etc.
Indian real estate is yet to reach to a level of maturity where there is authentic due diligence that is accepted and honoured as third party and neutral platform for the buyers. Unfortunately, there is a collective conspiracy of silence on part of the developers by dismissing any such platform, as and when any attempt is made. The larger universe of the developers are still not very comfortable with a critical review platform that would rather lend them credibility for the right kind of projects.
The data available with Track2Realty suggests that more than half of the property transactions in the last three years have been with the under-construction property. However, purchase of under-construction properties is not as simple as it appears from the standpoint of construction timelines. The process needs extra caution from legal standpoint to make sure the second buyer is not caught between the developers’ vague commitments and the first buyers’ exit without the mandatory processes.
A closer look at the sales methodology of the developers suggests while they exaggerate some USPs of the project, they very smartly conceal the information to make their offer look very lucrative to homebuyers.
Amidst all the misleading claims and marketing exaggerations, location mapping is the most glaring one. Generally maps are not to scale and give the wrong perception of the location of the project. For example, the brochure will say 10 minutes from the airport or commercial district; it does not state distance in kilometres.