Festival deals flood property market as realtors try to cut inventory

Real estate companies are rushing in with discounts and freebies ahead of Diwali, a time that accounts for a high volume of home sales in the country. Across the country, residential projects offering deals have risen 45-50 per cent in the run-up to the festive season and may double further by Diwali and the year-end as realtors attempt to clear piled-up inventory.

Book and save Rs 2-12 lakh, pay no brokerage fees, get free 100g gold coins on the purchase of an apartment, get free registration and stamp duty worth lakhs of rupees or get a free car -- these are among the offers being promoted by developers to tap buyers in a slow market.

As many as 400 projects across the country including cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai have some deal or the other to offer, according to property website Magicbricks. The number was just 275 not too long ago. The projects hawking deals may go up to 800 if small developers join the party as well by Diwali.

FESTIVAL BONANZA COMES CALLING
Property fairs and carnivals mark the start of festive season

• About 400 projects across India including Delhi, Mumbai offering various deals and discounts
• Offers include, save minimum of Rs 2-12 lakh, free 100 gm gold coin and Singapore trip amongst others
• Festive season contributes one third of total sales for developers
• Realty sector battling low sales and high inventory

There’s action around the deals, and that does not mean brisk sales alone. For instance, Investors Clinic, a real estate platform,  is organising a Navratra property festival across six locations in Delhi NCR on October 5 and 6.  Developers including Ajnara, Amrapali, Mahagun, Parsvanath, Spire, Supertech, Wave and Jaypee are participating. There are many more property fairs planned across the country.

This festive season is a ‘do or die’ situation for developers battling low sales and high inventory and makes up for about one third of total sales for the sector, according to experts.

Ashutosh Limaye, head (research & real estate intelligence service), JLL India, says, "This (festive seaon) is the last chance for developers… otherwise price cuts are inevitable. We will have to wait and see how much of the discounts/offers get converted into sales but this will definitely tell us the flavour of the market.”

Sudhir Pai, business head, Magicbricks, adds that such offers from developers have gone up substantially in the last couple of quarters.

Till now, the sector has seen high inventory levels with low sales and also fewer launches this year. Mumbai has an inventory of close to 48 months, Delhi of 23 months and Bangalore of 25 months. This is above the comfortable level of 14-15 months, according to a report by Jones Lang Lasalle.

Brotin Banerjee, managing director, Tata Housing, says, “The festive season is an opportune time for developers to offer attractive schemes to buyers which will help accelerate the sales momentum for residential projects.”

But, there are those who differ. "These offers are not enough to attract jaded buyers. They won’t respond favourably to discounts. And if the negative sentiment continues, prices might come down,” says Sanjay Sharma, managing director of Qubrex, a consultancy.