The demand for residential real estate projects in the city has gathered steam in the past few months after battling a phase of slowdown which had dented sales of apartments.The revival in consumer demand has revved up sales of apartments in the April-June quarter of this fiscal. As per the estimates of the Orissa chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai), 800-1,000 apartments were sold by different realty players in the city in the April-June period which is a 20 per cent growth over the sales in the January-March quarter of 2008-09.

Industry leaders attributed this growth to fall in prices and launch of new housing projects with modern amenities by realty players from the NCR (National Capital Region) like Assotech and Vipul. Moreover, all-out efforts supported by publicity campaigns to promote these projects also helped push the sales. “The entry of new real estate players after the announcement of new building norms by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has redefined the real estate market in the city. The projects of realty players like Assotech and Vipul which offer a host of modern amenities has given the customers a greater choice in buying apartments”, DS Tripathy, secretary of Credai-Orissa told Business Standard.

He said, the easing of prices of residential apartments in the aftermath of the economic downturn has helped revive consumer demand. Following the downturn, Credai-Orissa had cut prices by 10 per cent for all the upcoming residential projects in November 2008. The prices of the residential apartments for the middle income groups in the city were in the range of Rs 1,600-Rs 2,500 per sq ft depending on the quality of construction and the project location. “The real estate players like Assotech and Vipul have given a new dimension to the realty transactions. With a strong focus on advertisements on different media, these realty players have made the desired impact on their target consumers. Of late, advertisement has become an investment in the realty sector”, said Anup Mohapatra, president, Real Estate Developers Association (REDA)-Orissa.

Punyabrata Mohanty, manager (corporate communications), Assotech BEBL Infrastructure Limited said, “The real estate market in Bhubaneswar was essentially a supplier’s market with the consumers having very little choice as far as buying flats was concerned. With the arrival of real estate players like Assotech, the choice of the consumers has widened “.

Popularity: 1% [?]