The real estate sector may be on its way to tide over the downturn as the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are now showing a renewed interest in buying flats in the city.
The builders are scrambling to cater to the NRI buyers.
The Nahar Group, which is constructing a township at Powai, is building 150 flats exclusively for the NRI buyers in the last two months.
These flats in Nahar Amrit Shakti are customised flats built exclusively for the NRIs will have amenities such as air-conditioners, wooden flooring and exclusive security system.
These flats being sold at a premium are priced at Rs 7,700 per sq ft, higher than Rs 7,000 charged for other consumers in the same complex.
“We are getting a good response from the NRIs and they do not mind paying extra for the extra facility,” said Sukhraj Nahar, director, Nahar Group.
The Lodha Group has created a special NRI cell to cater to the overseas clients and do all the negotiations through e-mails.
“There has been an increase in sales from these clients and many have been booked in our two premium projects Bellisimo and Primero at Mahalaxmi,” said R. Karthik, senior vice-president (marketing), Lodha Group.
{{/usCountry}}“There has been an increase in sales from these clients and many have been booked in our two premium projects Bellisimo and Primero at Mahalaxmi,” said R. Karthik, senior vice-president (marketing), Lodha Group.
{{/usCountry}}A flat at Bellisimo is priced at Rs 6 crore while the Primero costs about Rs 3 crore.
The Neev Group which is coming with projects at Colaba, Prabhadevi and Tardeo also confirm of the increasing number of enquiries coming from the NRI clients.
Jitendra Jain, chairman of Neev Group, said: “We have seen a flood of enquiries from clients from the US, the UK and the Middle East.”
In the last one year, the Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry along with other groups has been organising housing exhibitions abroad to woo the overseas clients.
The real estate consultancy firms have also pointed to the increasing number of NRIs buying property but said this is a trend confined to the metros.
“The NRIs are coming back but with lot of research and they are also negotiating the prices,” said Pawan Swamy, managing director (western India) Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, a leading real estate consultant.