Samyag Shah has been part of the company - earlier known as Marathon Group, for more than a decade now. Building on the 56 years legacy, he is now leading the company with innovative design and technology initiatives. As Samyag said, “The foundations set by our predecessors and the benefits of their connections and legacy in the sector has helped us to take the organization forward from there.”
Talking about the financial aspect Samyag shared, “We are now a listed company as Marathon Nextgen Realty Ltd and with the latest major fundraising, we have repaid around 350 Cr debt and are net debt free as a listed entity. All our projects are now operating under Marathon Nextgen Realty Ltd, except for a few old projects that will be completed soon and some legacy debt remains which will also be resolved very soon.”
Mumbai Property Market Trends
Samyag is bullish about Mumbai real estate as he believes, the major infrastructure developments happening across the city are opening up new land parcels for developers and easing connectivity to suburbs for the homebuyers. “Panvel has become a hub of real estate development, due to Atal Setu connectivity and coming-up of Navi Mumbai airport. Our integrated township in Panvel is witnessing strong demand from homebuyers and likewise, Bhandup, another upcoming location is witnessing demand for Grade A commercial and township projects. We are planning a 100-acre township in Bhandup because of the strong latent demand in this micro-market. Byculla is another real estate hot-spot due to its strategic location and high luxury residential demand.”
Expressing his views on commercial real estate across Mumbai, Samyag said, “Both leasing and buying models of commercial property are showing strong upward trajectory. Our commercial buildings in Mulund and Lower Parel, both diverse micro-markets are doing equally well. While, Parel is largely a CBD area and therefore commercial buildings lease/sell out fast, Mulund too is doing well in terms of commercial properties as people now prefer workplace closer to home. Grade A office buildings, that we provide therefore see high traction among the local population.”
What Home-buyers want?
Talking about the changing consumer behavior, Samyag shared that customers today are not satisfied with just a good quality home, amenities within the project have become an important deciding factor. “In one of our residential projects, we are maintaining the club facility even post-handover of the project to make sure the clubhouse quality remains consistent. In another project, Monte South in Byculla, we have created the sky-level pool on the 65th floor of the building, offering retreat-like experience to the residents. These are a few examples how customer aspirations are changing, as they are now more aware of global trends and are well travelled.”
The New Initiatives
With rise in customer expectations, design and technology have become an important aspect of any development. Samyag has led many new initiatives especially in sales & marketing. “We have successfully used AI in sales calling which has shown great results leading to cost and time efficiencies. In construction too new technologies are resulting in faster and timely project deliveries. From design point of view, we ensure natural ventilation and light as well as stringent quality checks for customer satisfaction. Ina addition, our project dashboards are regularly updated with actual site pictures for the buyers to keep track of the progress. Overall customer experience has become a very big factor for all developers. The customer journey right from the first sales call to handover and after sales service has to be impeccable for a reputed brand,” he said.
Mumbai’s Dynamic Real Estate Market
There is no doubt, Mumbai is India’s most active real estate market. As Samyag points out, the strong property sales are being driven by demand for luxury homes and infrastructure growth. “Projects like coastal road, Atal Setu, NMIA and recent announcements of Mahalaxmi racecourse makeover and tallest viewing tower in Thane are examples of how rapidly Mumbai landscape is changing. State government’s supportive real estate policies too are helping the buyers as well as developers, bringing more transparency and professionalism in the sector.”
Another interesting aspect of Mumbai, Samyag shares, “Every few kilometers the micro-market completely changes – from demography and pricing to customer demand. This makes the city real estate very dynamic and developers have to understand each micro-market pattern to cater to the right demand. Also, with high capital values, joint developments have become popular, as also society redevelopment and SRA projects.”
Taking forward the legacy of serving the industry, Samyag Shah is part of CREDAI - MCHI as Convenor Youth wing. He has the pulse of the Mumbai real estate which according to him has matured, especially post RERA and is shifting from speculative to institutionalized way of working. “The young generation of entrepreneurs have strong confidence in long-term demand and price stability of real estate across the country and while challenges remain, we believe Indian real estate will continue to thrive,” he said, concluding the conversation on a positive note.
