Pune Is a Promising Residential & Commercial Realty Market

BY Realty+

What are your views on the demand of residential, commercial, office-space market post Pandemic?

KrishnaKumar Goyal, Chairman & Managing Director, Kohinoor Group- No one ever thought that because of pandemic the world would come to a halt, all the businesses would come to a standstill and we all would have to sit home for almost 2 years. Work from home became a new culture where no one ever thought that we could stay at home for so long. Pandemic made us realize the limitation of space for work. Post pandemic people realized the need for bigger homes; hence most of them started looking out for larger homes. Those who had 1bhk started to buy 2bhk, those who had 2bhk went to buy 3bhk, so on so forth. It became a necessity to have a space of our own to adapt and accommodate work from home culture. 

People started to feel they should have their own property. Rate of interest was reduced therefore it became easier for people to buy homes. The demand for residential properties is increasing. In the next two years it will only increase because many IT firms are looking out for international standard homes, hence they prefer Pune to be their ideal base to own an abode of their own. What attracts them to Pune is the atmosphere, the culture, environment leaving aside cities like Delhi, Bengaluru. The demand for commercial space has only increased in present times and the momentum will continue. In Pandemic many offices were empty because but eventually the demand has only increased post pandemic. Pune sees a huge demand in commercial properties. Many multinational companies want to open their offices in the city and shell out on rentals. I foresee good market for the commercial spaces in the next 2 years. 

How do you see the role of private investors in the real estate sector? 

Vineet Goyal, Jt Managing Director, Kohinoor Group- Real-estate is the key from what I understand and equity is the best game as of today in the market. We have seen an upsurge in demand Post Covid and I see it as continuing streak. Specifically last four years after RERA the whole real-estate industry has changed from family run business to an organization driven business structure. So lot of professionalism is coming in. I think equity is going to play a big role. Lot of investors is eying this space; funds like FDI, FI are eying real-estate. Above all because of RERA transparency investors have gained lot of confidence for which I think is a good thing for all. 

What is the policy support required for real estate sector?

Vineet Goyal- Affordability is the key. Material cost increase is directly impacting the sale value to the customers. Secondly the stamp duty exemption should be offered. Increasing interest rate should be curtailed now. Anything between 6.75 to 7.25 is good place where people are ready to take that risk. Certainly if affordable scheme the government discontinues, another 4-5 years this market is in good position to be in. 

What are your views on NRI investments in Pune?

Vineet Goyal- Pune is the best place to have your residential dwelling. We are the education, IT hub  of India. So this calls for very important aspect Why Pune. I think Pune demands this. For NRI’s this is the heaven for investments because the pricing is good, the transparency is good, there is minimalistic damage in terms of liquidation, developers that has happened because Pune commands respect and people trust developers in Pune. I think this is a big thing for Pune. 

The five year plan for Kohinoor to venture out in other cities but Pune being our home market, majority of our business has to come through Pune. As an organization we have gone out in the other areas such as commercial space. We are into student housing, warehousing in a big way. We are diversifying. We are going in the multi-city that’s the future plans.

What is the total land bank developed and being developed by Kohinoor Group?

Rajesh Goyal, Jt MD, Kohinoor Group - We have developed over 6 mn sq ft. Over 6000+ family members are part of the Kohinoor growing family. All of our projects are in Pune only. This we speak of residential. In commercial we have developed over one million sq ft. This year alone we are developing 6 mn sq ft in residential housing. And 2mn sq ft of commercial space as of today.

Rajesh Goyal – What are future plans for Kohinoor Group market growth? 

We want to stick to Pune. India as a whole is growing. Investments are growing in Pune. Pune on an average sells 80,000 apartments per year. I have seen an increase in demand. Increase in the demand has gone from 1bhk to 2bhk to 3bhk. Bigger size apartments are new flavor of the season for Pune. I see this demand growing from 8-9%. On the commercial front unoccupied space is less than 3% which is good news for Pune. It means there is a huge potential for commercial development. Annually Pune leases out more than 2-3mn sq ft per annum. Next 5 years I see it grows to 12-13 mn per sq ft.  

What do think about the current shortage of housing in urban areas which is estimated to be around 10 mn units?

KrishnaKumar Goyal - I think the government is very clear that they want to go ahead with PMAY. I think the execution has to happen at the right spirit. Certain cities like Indore, Pune are developing smart cities. They are doing PMAY project but if other cities can take this up, good moves by the government will help the real-estate industry also. The government’s move to get inclusive housing is a welcome move I would say. Welcome in the sense, you are trying to mitigate the difference between the normal and inclusive housing scheme. This is going to help to curtail huge requirement the city has. 

Your take on the competition within your city?

KrishnaKumar Goyal - From the day one when we ventured into construction, real-estate, I don’t see there is a competition. Yes! There are many players in the market. I think the right approach, transparency in your dealing, honesty and on time delivery are the key ingredients for any real-estate organization to grow. As an organization we feel very proud. Pune is that organization which helps you to be on your toes 24/7. You are focusing on the delivery; this helps the organization to do what they want to do. And I think that is the reason we feel no competition. Yes, there is lot of developers, players coming in. We welcome them. Bigger the number of developers, it helps the market to grow. It helps the organization to grow. The professional approach an organization is going to get only helps you to become better and then the people trust you more in buying your properties. 

What are some of the challenges faced by the sector in the present times?

KrishnaKumar Goyal - I think the one window policy of single clearance is the biggest hurdle, if this part is taken care of the government is focusing on lot of other factors such as ease of doing business in terms of getting your sanctions on time, the approvals on time, the way we are held responsible with RERA for lot of things, other departments, bureaucracies and authorities should also be held responsible in similar manner so that we get our approvals on time because of which we can deliver the project, dream house of the consumer on time.

Picture: L-R - Rajesh Goyal; KrishnaKumar Goyal; Vineet Goyal.

Tags : Pune Residential Commercial Realty Market KK Goyal CMD Vineet Goyal & Rajesh Goyal Jt MD Kohinoor Group real-estate office-space NRI investments