Interview of Brotin Banerjee, MD and CEO, Tata Housing Development Company Ltd

How do you see the real estate market poised in India ? From a sector steeped in murky deals to the one led by corporate entities, the Indian realty industry has undergone a tremendous change in the past few years. The transformation started since 2005, when government allowed FDI in real estate, which saw lot of interests from corporate and MNCs in this space. The next wave of transformation started with the entry of more number of corporate houses into the business giving the sector an image makeover. Led by corporates with strong business foundation, the sector started adopting corporate governance practice where corporate social responsibilities were given prominence and transparency has started to be the norm in the industry Indian real estate has huge potential demand in almost every segment including commercial, residential, retail, industrial and hospitality, etc. The pan India demand for office space is estimated to be 196 million sq ft by 2013. The pan India residential demand is estimated to be over 7.5 million units by 2013 across all categories including Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), affordable, mid and luxury segments. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield) There have also been radical changes in the dealings of the sector, which previously lacked ethics though is turning more investor-friendly with the onset of corporate governance, transparency and an increased sense of accountability among the players.   Why do you think that there is so much stress on luxurious lifestyle in real estate marketing these days, is that the only way to move ahead? In a competitive market where there are multiple players, real estate developers are going all out to put forth their market differentiator. Luxury-lifestyle housing projects helps cater to a niche audience which is impressed by facilities such as club-houses, swimming pools or health clubs. One cannot say if that’s the only way to move ahead as during slowdown or recession all developers who have been into premium and luxury projects quickly turn to affordable segments and when there is an improvement in the market, they go back to premium and luxury. Hence it totally depends upon the business model the developer is comfortable with. As far as Tata Housing is concerned, we straddle across all consumer segments from value to luxury housing, by offering products ranging from Rs. 7 lakhs to over Rs 14 crores. We have launched a subsidiary company, Smart Value Homes Limited, that focuses exclusively on value and affordable housing while the parent Tata Housing focuses on developing premium and luxury residences. We have found successes in both the business model owning to unique process and technologies adoption. You have also come out with a project targeting senior citizens, can you talk about the project and the potential in this segment for Tata Housing? Research and data pointed towards this segment which seemed to be going unattended and showed a huge deficit in terms of the number of senior citizens in the country as opposed to housing facilities available to them. Riva Residences is one of India’s largest integrated residential complexes for the senior emeritus in Bengaluru been into premium and luxury projects quickly turn to affordable segments and when there is an improvement in the market, they go back to premium and luxury. Hence it totally depends upon the business model the developer is comfortable with. As far as Tata Housing is concerned, we straddle across all consumer segments from value to luxury housing, by offering products ranging from Rs. 7 lakhs to over Rs 14 crores. We have launched a subsidiary company, Smart Value Homes Limited,that focuses exclusively on value and affordable housing while the parent Tata Housing focuses on developing premium and luxury residences. We have found successes in both the business model owning to unique process and technologies adoption. Source:PaulWriter