It is a hide and seek game in the country’s real estate sector with buyers seeking discounts and big builders hiding in this festive season.
But exceptions like Mumbai-based Oberoi Realty are becoming the game changers by increasing prices at a time when most developers are being forced to offer incentives to draw in buyers.
There is a long queue of buyers here in the Oberoi Realty sales office in Andheri and seeing the demand for its Oberoi Splendour Grande projects, they have hiked the rate of their project by Rs 1000 per sq feet.
Oberoi Splendor Grande is a luxury residential 27 storeyed structure with 1296 units 3BHK. Earlier it was selling at 18000/per sq feet and now it will be at 19000/per sq feet. With demand running high, Oberoi Realty has already sold out 1200 units.
“We are seeing good demand for our Oberoi Splendor Grande, and despite festive discounts by other builders. We are increasing it,” said Vikas Oberoi, MD of Oberoi Realty.
For other Oberoi Projects as well, prices may not be rising, but they aren't falling either. But for the rest of the luxury housing market, a sales slump looms large.
According to a recent survey by Delhi based PE Analytics, of the 3,700 luxury apartments that are currently under construction in Mumbai and surrounding suburbs, around 1,440 or around 40 per cent remain unsold.
For Delhi and its suburbs, of the 2300 apartments under construction, 25 per cent or 575 remain unsold.
Experts say that the stock of unsold properties could mean price corrections for the sector.
So while the rest of the sector may have to take in price cuts and lower sales for Oberoi Realty, which has just finished the second quarter with cash surplus of over Rs 1300 crore, the risk of keeping prices at current levels or even raising them may be a risk worth taking.
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