Real estate consulting firm Knight Frank on Wednesday released a research paper on ‘Affordable Housing’ in India, saying that this segment has a potential market size of Rs300,000 crores in India by 2011. The affordable housing segment of the real estate industry is expected to see requirement of over two million units by 2011. The report was unveiled by Pranay Vakil, Chairman, Knight Frank India.

While the Rs3-10 lakh income group would drive this demand, the research findings further indicate that the largest contributor to this market size is expected to be the group earning Rs3-6 lakh income annually. Pranab Datta, Vice Chairman and MD, Knight Frank India said, “We have witnessed a tumultuous situation in the real estate sector and the shift today is clearly towards Affordable Housing. The findings of this report clearly indicate a huge demand in a segment that should encourage developers to take increased notice.”

Although a number of affordable projects have been announced, the locations do not have adequate social infrastructure which is of utmost importance for the proper development and successful implementation of affordable housing, says the Knight Frank report. The report reveals that good connectivity to work places is the most important factor influencing the buyers decision in selecting the location of their residence. The Knight Frank survey took a sample size of 1,400 households across the seven cities. The respondents were mostly tenants, without tenancy rights under the rent control act, and had a strong intention to buy a house within the next two years, the report said.

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