Realty prices will go up 15% in a year

Investors Clinic is a real estate consultancy with a strong domestic and global clientele across property segments. Honey Katiyal, chief executive officer, Investors Clinic, spoke to DNA Money about the current industry outlook, expansion plans and the best investment bets. Excerpts from the interview:

How do you look at the current real estate market and what is your take on price movement in the next one year?
The market is a little slow because of the economic reasons. People have been waiting for prices to come down and home loan interest rates to ease a bit. However, in a year we will witness 15% increase in prices in various real estate properties, depending on the location and the project.

You deal in all the segments -- residential, commercial and farmland. How have the segments fared and where do you see the maximum traction? Would you look at narrowing focus, going forward?Right now, residential is doing maximum business. Even in the slowdown, the maximum response is in the residential segment. The reason behind it is the fact that people who understand the market dynamics know that prices will not come down. Such people are buying without waiting as they do not want to end up buying a property at higher rate. We will not concentrate on one segment as each segment has a different clientele and obviously different market movements and cycles. We want to work on every segment keeping in mind the client needs and work according to the market trends.

What are your expansion plans in the next two years, both investment and geography-wise?
We have started operations in Dubai and Singapore, apart from presence in 15 locations in India. The company has sold more than 50,000 properties in last five years and is currently selling more than 15,000 properties a month. We have partnered with various developers such as Jaypee Group, Unitech, Paras, Supertech, Amrapali, 3Cs and JMD, etc. The company is in an expansion phase and is looking forward to capture more market share in near future.

In the current slump in the realty sector, which are the segments still popular with clients?
Luxury has always been on the up as this client is not dependent of home loans, and hence they invest whenever they find an interesting deal or a project. After this, the affordable segment between Rs25 lakh and Rs40 lakh is getting the maximum clients.

What kind of returns can investors expect from realty at this point of time and which would be the best markets for investors to look at?
Returns will be good if the money is put in the right project. At this point, and for that matter any point in time, the best way is to invest at an initial stage of the project. Delhi NCR areas such as Noida, Noida Expressway, NH 24 and Indirapuram can be looked at.

Source:www.dnaindia.com