On a retail HIGH

Gurugram has grown tremendously in terms of Infrastructure and real estate, the millennium city has been able to draw investments from global corporations, IT giants and retail conglomerates despite traffic jams, the high cost of living and overpopulation. This makes the city one of the fastest growing retail markets in the NCR. Presently, the city requires retail destination points which have to be really a good mix of the exclusive shopping experience, different kind of experience which is much beyond the theatre and kids area.

“Talking about Gurugram, it requires a different positioning of retail destinations. There needs to be a mall catering to the various micro markets of Gurugram like Sohna road, Golf course extension road, Delhi-Gurugram Expressway etc. They need to provide a different kind of experience to the high young professional class with high income and they have shown signs of a high propensity to spend much beyond basic food and housing and clothing,” said Sachin Pant, CEO, Innovest.

According to a recent Anarock report, a number of malls will be coming up in Gurugram. One of the upcoming projects includes ATHENA by Brahma Center Development Pvt. Ltd. which owns the 12.206 acres of land at Sector-16 along the Delhi - Gurugram Expressway. It is a retail and commercial space spread across a leasable area of 1.3 million square feet having G + 18 floors for Grade A office space and G + 3 floors for retail. Strategically located on the expressway, it offers great connectivity from Sohna road, Delhi, and the airport as well. It is going to be an excellent destination for people residing around the area.

M3M Group is coming up with M3M 65th Avenue in golf course extension road which is a unique product mix of buzzing retail and uber residences. It is going to cater to the commuters and residents in and around the golf course road and the golf course extension road.

“Many factors including a large young workforce, nuclear families, the rise in working women population and emerging opportunities has been a key for the growth of the retail sector in the city.

The city can be considered as the rising sun for the retail sector in coming time. Taking New Gurugram into consideration, it has got an immense boost with the help of fast connectivity through better roads and improvement in public utility infrastructure and self-sustained townships where retail areas have been planned in advance to cater to residential/office developments. We have a mixed-use project Vatika India Next township in New Gurugram and are coming up with another one - Vatika India Next 2 with a number of residential, retail and commercials spaces,” said Vinay Wadhwa, head of commercial sales, Vatika Limited.

Gurugram has a variety of good quality housing, shopping retail, and entertainment options, because of business and corporate-friendly government. This translates directly to economic growth, the creation of employment opportunities and creates more demand for retail. Thus, the city has become the major hotspot for retail sector not only in NCR but also in India. — ANI

Affordability at its 15-year best level

The affordability of Indian residential real estate is at 15-year-best levels, aided by subdued increases in property prices and a rise in household income, says a UBS report. According to the global financial services major, going forward residential property sales are expected to gradually recover over the medium term.

“We think India's residential real estate sector is at the cusp of a gradual demand revival aided by affordability at 15-year-best levels, high expectations of property price increases over the next one to three years, reasonable comfort on personal finances and implementation of new regulations aimed at regaining buyer confidence,” the report said.

Moreover, improvement in current subdued job creation/income growth outlook could lead to even faster growth, it said. “We expect 5-7 per cent rental growth for office assets in tech cities over FY19-FY20, aided by pre-committed demand amid limited supply," the report noted.

Following the implementation of Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA), though the demand-side impact taking time to play out, impact on supply is already visible. “RERA implementation has been slow and awareness is much lower than we had expected. This may imply that demand may take longer to recover, but favourable supply-side dynamics are already visible," UBS said in a research note. The report further added that the sector's high inventory levels have also receded. — PTI