The future looks ever more promising as India is now looking at massive infrastructural marvels in the pipeline

– Dr. NIRANJAN HIRANANDANI

Founder & Managing Director, Hiranandani Group

What is your overall view of the present real estate sector?

The current real estate sector is buoyant with on-ground sales numbers indicating a sustainable demand trajectory. The residential segment has been thriving with high sentiments for homeownership sprouting across all three key housing segments. HNI’s & NRI’s interest in luxury housing has brought in promising investments into the sector along with home upgradation shaping the need for larger homes. Clustered development and township models have gained traction amidst the rising homebuyer’s concern towards desiring an ‘ease of living’ quotient.

Commercial real estate has witnessed the highest demand in the office leasing segment owing to the reopening of office spaces. New emerging asset classes like data centres, logistics & industrial parks, hospitals, retail, & co-living spaces have seen sprouting across the market. Both micro and macro real estate players have merged together to be able to leverage advanced homebuyers’ demand in the new micro-markets.

How do you look at your company’s performance over the past one year?

The Hiranandani Group has seen a positive sales growth curve in its real estate portfolio in the past one year. The demand for homeownership has ranged from the mid to luxury housing segment. The logistics and warehousing vertical of the Group- Greenbase Industrial & Logistics Park has parallelly been successful to deliver warehousing space and has recently forayed the Pune market.  YOTTA- a Hiranandani subsidiary concerned with data centre has also launched North India’s first hyper-scale data centre in Greater Noida.

What is your strategy for expansion in the realty segment? How do you think your company is performing against competitors?

The Hiranandani Group exhibits the legacy of a premium brand, pioneer in creating integrated townships. The group’s outlook for FY 2023 is to launch robust pipeline of residential projects at its Powai and Panvel Township. The launch of villa plots and retail plots are in pipeline for next year launch plan. The above launches are subject to approvals, and we hope to crystallize the target launches accordingly.

We are exploring built to suit commercial development across key locations to offer world class office spaces. The group has forayed into Industrial and Logistics sector as well across new locations like Pune, Nashik, Talegaon, Chennai and exploring many more potential hubs across geographies.

The Group stands strong on committing it tall investment to capitalize on the optimistic real estate market sentiment despite economic headwinds on the back of bullish consumer demand.

What are the major considerations in project design?

Post-Covid, the homebuyer’s checklist has taken a quick shift towards amenities expanding beyond the four walls of a home. The need for extra space like a sundeck/open patio, an attached balcony, along with acres of open green foliage for fresh air has preceded the potential homebuyer’s demands. Proximity to healthcare, education, connectivity, and easy accessibility to daily conveniences has topped the checklist. Such new-age amenities have redefined customer preferences and developers are happily incorporating such changes into their product design.

How do you look at the construction equipment sector?

The construction techniques, materials and design have evolved drastically in the past couple of years. With the advancement in technology and digitalization being a growth harbinger, the real estate sector has been witnessing an array of new paradigms of construction. Pre-cast technology has been gaining acceptance rapidly owing to its customizable capabilities. The quick turn-around of projects on time, elimination of human error, cost-effectiveness and durability are a few of the conveniences aided by the latest construction technology. The future looks ever more promising as India is now looking at massive infrastructural marvels in the pipeline.

What are the challenges and suggestions to iron out those challenges in the real estate sector?

The Indian real estate sector withstood strong headwinds and has emerged victorious as compared to its global counterparts. The on-ground high-sales numbers across the segments are a testimony to the resiliency the sector has showcased in the last year.

However, global economic volatilities like high crude oil prices & construction materials have led to an overall rise in construction costs, and eventually, the cost burden got transferred to the consumers. Consecutive hikes in interest rates have levelled the rate nearer to the pre-pandemic level, making potential consumers rethink their purchase decision.

Despite policy support, excess of incentives and monetary interventions the real estate sector needs streamlining of prices in order to better sustain the ensuing year. Continued policy support and a balance of both monetary & fiscal interventions will help the sector to revive better.

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