If you are looking to buy a home in Lucknow this new
year, you must read this piece before you make a final decision. Why? We have
looked at various localities of Lucknow and are then making an informed
suggestion to benefit you both in short as well as long term. You need this
advice because a home buy will probably be the biggest purchase you will make
in your life.
Lucknow is one of the fastest growing cities in India
and has increasingly emerged as the preferred choice for buying a home for
anyone in eastern and central parts of Uttar Pradesh. A well laid out basic
infrastructure, already functional metro rail, an international airport and
excellent network of roads provide the basic wherewithal for a tension free
life here. Added to this is a well – educated and one of the most civilized
population groups in India. This is also the seat of political, judicial and
executive power of the largest Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. With a stable
government at the hub, the opportunities galore in this futuristic town.
When one looks at Lucknow, the city has grown in all
the directions in last few years. There are developments in Gomti Nagar
extension, Raebareilly road, Sultanpur road, Hardoi road and Kanpur road.
However, if you ask anyone in Lucknow his preference for buying a new home, the
answer in all likelihood will be Gomti Nagar extension or Shaheed path (which
is the official name), unless there are budget constraints, one is facing. The
rental values for flats in this area are easily 1.5 times a similar apartment
in the second best residential area. Despite a relatively new development, the
locality is being considered even by old Lucknowites to move in and stay.
The question is then, why this rush to buy homes in
this area. To get the answer, we should look at multiple factors. Gomti Nagar
extension has an excellent connectivity to the airport and the railway station
through Shaheed path. The second thing one looks at is the amenities in the
area. Whether you look for entertainment facilities or shopping area, there is
no close rival to this location. The largest and the newest mall, the phoenix
city mall is located here, which has got a gaming area and a multiplex. There
are multiple facilities for sports with an international cricket stadium, Ekana
cricket stadium located here. The area is also blessed with many schools
affiliated to different boards, where students from all over Lucknow prefer to
study. The medical facilities in the vicinity are the best in the town.
Another reason why this locality emerges as the most
preferred destination for home buyers, is the most modern apartment complexes
on offer by the best builders in the town. Whether it is large north India
based developers like Ansal or Omaxe or one of the best developer of UP, Paarth Infrabuild, the properties on
offer here have the most modern amenities.
Paarth Infrabuild
offers the best located projects Aadyant and Arka in this cluster. These
projects are situated adjacent to Phoenix city mall and the cricket stadium and
have the best amenities on offer.
In last decade, the age of home buyers has gone down and
number of home buyers has increased substantially. Taking advantage of the same
boom, the developers have started to offer the customers with different
types of housing projects, for their ease and to cater to their interest.
However, there are some fly-by-night developers who have
entered the trade to make some quick money. They would typically release
attractive advertisements and offers to lure customers. There are also some
developers in every market who have delivered good projects in past but are
facing huge financial crisis. Therefore, a critical part of a home-purchasing decision
is background check on developer. So what should one look out for:
Choose a developer who has delivered some projects in the
city earlier
Check out for a financially strong builder. You can do a
google search on the developer to see if he has defaulted on some payment etc
or taking huge loans. It’s better to avoid such a developer even if he meets
the criteria 1.
While it might sound like some work, a due diligence at
this stage will help you to avoid disappointments later. Some of the benefits
that one can enjoy by purchasing a home through a reputed developer:
Modern Design
A reputed developer who has multiple projects, will have
his own setup to oversee the designing and the construction process. This
ensures one gets the most state of the art design, which are functionally
useful and provide living comfort for a long time. Typically, a developer with
a quick money in mind, doesn’t create his own setup and gets contractors to do
everything. This results in compromising quality as the contractor is not
bothered about his long term reputation with the end customer.
Transparency in dealing
A reputed and large developer will have a process to take care of any concern raised by a customer, something which is very important in buying a product with deep engagement. There is a process of 3-4 years during which you need help on aspects like checking progress of the project, payment reconciliation, documentation etc. Small developers don’t have CRM department to handle these queries and ever changing sales people are of no help in such situations. Also, with a large developer, everything will be recorded in writing or through a mail. Registration of projects with RERA also ensure a certain minimum transparency by the builder. The projects offered on individual basis by small builders in unorganized sector are not even registered with RERA and offer no specific details.
Easy accessibility of Home Loans
A reputed developer will already have a project approval
done for home loans for its customers through reputed financial institutions.
In such a case, it becomes extremely easy for a customer to get his home loan
processed. In some cases, financial institutions also offer special promotions
on home loans like subvention schemes or special interest rates for home loan on
such residential projects.
Timely Project Delivery
Good
and reputed developers ensure that they keep their commitments to the customers
and therefore use modern project management techniques to ensure customer
satisfaction.
Paarth Infrabuild is one of the most
reputed developers of Lucknow. They have multiple projects in the city and
offer best value for money to its customers with transparent offers.
Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions a family makes together.
This also has far reaching social and economic impact on family members. The
locality, the neighbors, infrastructure and what kind of home one buys, go on
to define the kind of life one would live.
There are many choices for a buyer. One can buy an apartment in a
condominium or buy a villa on an independent plot of land. For some,
Skyscrapers make their inhabitants proud and inspire awe in them. But some just
don’t like living in tall buildings with shared spaces. A few others want
to live in an Independent
villa, but can’t afford it. The high prices of land have made villas virtually out of reach of an
average Indian. The independent floors give a certain middle course that is
affordable and meets aspirations of a style-living oriented middle class
family.
An independent-floor apartment is a
residential unit with a few other flats in a low-rise independent building. The
number of units on each floor is one or two and therefore don’t have to share
the common space with many families. These buildings are generally mid –
height, offering the much needed visual relief, ensuring these are not
claustrophobic. These are also designed with ample space between different
blocks to afford a healthy flow of air and ingress of sunlight. These have
become important criteria for customers in post-pandemic world.
Buying an independent floor is clearly a lifestyle decision. This is so
because, an apartment of the same size in a high-rise will be available at
15-20% less cost. For a lot of people who go by utility of their purchase
decision, this premium over a similar sized apartment doesn’t make any sense,
but for few, it is the best decision they made. Also the flexibility of space
utilisation in independent floor is more as there are very limited common
areas. This also allows a buyer to give the space outside one’s home a
character that he wants.
However, builder floors have some drawbacks, if they are offered on a
standalone basis. Such independent floors do not have
facilities such as gymnasium, swimming pool, security and power back-up, that
all of the modern society apartments have. But if there are independent floors
on offer within a township, this is like one gets best of both worlds. An
independent floor with the sense of safety and security and the amenities
offered by a large well planned township is unparalleled in its value offer to
the buyer.
Independent floors offer a sense of space which can’t be compared with
an apartment. The privacy that this offers, also attracts buyers. The
discerning customers also like the opportunity to create the greens around
their home and less cacophonous surroundings. Another strong value that an
independent floor in a township offers is the “step in – step out” convenience.
What it means is that you could enjoy social life just by stepping out of your
home and be absolutely private the moment you step back inside.
Gardenia Residency in Paarth Republic Township on Lucknow- Kanpur road,
is attracting buyers with this unmatched combination and is one of the fastest
moving homes in Lucknow.
The debate as to which is a better investment opportunity – Real
Estate or Equity, when one is looking for high returns, is one that continues.
However, there are facts which clearly establish superiority of Real Estate
investment over equity investments. One of the most important reason in support
of it, is the lesser volatility of prices associated with RE prices. You could
not be away from the market, if you have made equity investments, while you
don’t check land prices every day and do it only when you need to sell.
Why Real Estate is a better investment than Equity
One point repeatedly put forward by Equity enthusiasts is that real estate is lumpy and illiquid. But what these people miss out is that wealth generation is not a target to be achieved in a few months or a year. It is meant to help achieve life goals over 10-15 years. Also, real estate generates supplementary cash flows in the form of rental income, which is almost always better than the dividend income one can expect from equity investments.
The nature of equity investments is such that the investor could
never predict the facts of how his investments would perform over a longer time
frame. Look at what happened in the case of a yes bank or a Reliance power.
People lost almost entire invested amounts due to wrong disclosures by
directors of these corporates. On the other hand, a real estate investment has
a material value that can be ascertained by anyone to a great degree of
certainty. This ensures that the best analyst and the worst in case of land
price will differ only by a few percentage points, while in case of equity,
this difference could be in 10s of percentage.
A certain group also propels equity investments through mutual funds
investment. Agreed, that mutual funds avoid the risk of volatility in only one
scrip, but the volatility is still much higher than Real Estate. Also, analyzed
over a long period of time, mutual funds have also not been great wealth
creators. And if they don’t serve this purpose, they lose the right to be
compared with real estate investment, which has helped people across India to
create wealth over years.
Another factor that supports real estate investments is the ability
of an individual to get funded at a highly subsidized interest rates by taking
a home loan, to buy a property. Can you get a loan to buy into equity? The fact
that one can fund the real estate investments through a loan results in taking
benefits of higher than calculated returns. If the price increase in property
has been more than the rate of interest on loan (which generally is the case),
one earns returns also on that part of investment that was done through home
loan money.
However, it is to be understood that the property should never be
used as a short-term investment tool. And one could argue in favor of an equity
investment for short term. Finally, the tax advantage offered on housing loan
both on the principal and interest amounts make the returns even sweeter and
therefore, property should always be a part of your investment portfolio.
We
are on a long road to recovery from the initial disruption created by the
pandemic. It, however, is sure that not everything will go back to how it was
pre-Covid. Somethings would have, perhaps, changed their character forever.
Future of work and home spaces
The
lockdown brought a huge change to the workplace. Work from home (WFH) became
the norm rather than exception. As per estimates from industry experts more
than 90% of 4.3 million IT workforce worked from home during lockdown. And it
seemed to have worked well, contrary to the early skepticism. The best part is
that both the employee and the employer seem to be happier with this
arrangement. While increased productivity warmed the hearts of employers,
employees enjoyed flexible working hours and savings in commute time.
Learning
from IT industry’s early moves, other industries also started to figure
out ways of getting a portion of workforce WFH without disrupting the work
ethics. Employers also saw it as an opportunity to reduce infrastructure and
administrative costs. Conferences and meetings went online, helping save
critical and expensive commute and helping organisations take swift decisions.
Also, employees could be close to families during these uncertain times,
especially when kids were home due to school closure. And there has been a vast
acceptance of these methods. Even the courts in the country, started using
video conferencing as a viable medium to do hearing.
WFH
also helped companies to tap into a pool of talent, which was not available
earlier. There were instances when employees were not willing to move places,
resulting in shortage of talent of a particular type. But with WFH becoming a
norm, this has no more remained a challenge. Also, people who left their homes,
leaving ageing parents behind, for a better life, could now shift back and be
next to their parents without affecting the work. This means very special for
women, who had to sacrifice their careers for commitments at home, suddenly
finding new opportunities.
Another
defining aspect of the pandemic induced work innovations has been a realization
by employers in industries other than IT, that remote work for a large
proportion of people in every industry is possible. As organizations tried it
under compulsion and found it working, it is expected to become a regular
feature going forward. This should result in continuation of these measures as
it works well for both the employees and employers. There was an announcement
by Deutsche bank with a plan to have almost 40% of its workforce working
from home permanently.
However,
there has been a flip side to WFH also. It is yet to be ascertained as to the
impact it will have on employee morale and loyalty over a longer period of
time. The lack of physical contact will affect the ability to group work,
ideate and solve complex challenges. This feeling of isolation could also
affect the mental well-being and may play havoc with self-confidence of
sensitive employees. As non-verbal part of the communication is not possible,
the exchange in certain situation could turn unhealthy. We can already hear
employees complaining about unstructured and long hours of work affecting their
life in multiple ways.
The
problem, in fact, extends beyond the mental well-being. The bedrooms and living
rooms are being converted to make-shift offices, which is an interference of
work life into personal space. Most of the houses in India are cramped and don’t have
appropriate office furniture, which may lead to health issues. As personal life
is intruded into, a lot of employees and their families may find this
experience awful. The ambient noise, at times, create embarrassing situations
for individuals and trying to hide from it could result in employees not being
at their normal self. Also, a large set of people have an extremely casual
approach to work, when in a relaxed setting, which may be off-putting for
colleagues in the work group.
What
then is the future of WFH in India? Basis the cost reduction it offers to
employers, there will be an increased traction to continue and enhance Work
from home. A large proportion of employees on other hand are already feeling
weariness of this change and may like to resume the normal office functioning
at the earliest possible opportunity. Multitude of work in offices, including
the IT corporations, require more than one teams and employees to work together
on a problem. Their synchronization has been critical for organizational
success. Keeping this and other factors in mind, most of the organizations may
be forced to resume operations like pre-covid times, once the scare is over.
However, a good solution can be blended office – working from home on specific
days and working at office on other days. This could be a winning solution if
proper planning with thorough understanding of each role.
This
new way of thinking will also result in paradigm shift in other industries. Real
Estate industry is the one that is expected to feel this change the most.
The market for office sales and rentals may face upheaval in short term. On the
other hand, residential developments in emerging and new locations may see an
uptick in demand. Challenges of working and managing office work from cramped
spaces will force people out of their homes in busy localities to look for new
and larger homes increasing the transactions. The noisy buildings located next
to a street as standalone building, will lose charm and large complexes away
from main road offering less noisy surroundings will gain prominence. It will
not be a surprise to see larger homes or apartments with an extra room
getting into favor, when compared with smaller homes. The locations with good
IT infrastructure will also find more buyers. Also, with travel and other
expenses down, the ability of an employee to pay the EMI amount would increase
substantially, giving him the confidence to invest in a bigger apartment.
As
the impact of WFH becomes clearer, we will know the way it impacts various
industries. One thing, however, is sure, that the housing real estate
industry is sure to see its best days. The focus will also shift from purely affordable
housing to apartment complexes located away from hustle bustle of
busy market areas. The large township projects will be in vogue and
certainly score over small city centric developments.
City of Lucknow, inhabited on the two sides of river Gomti, is a beautiful city that transitions from old to new in a matter of a few kilometers. The core of this city is its historical monuments, which are juxtaposed with glass and steel facade of state-of-the-art constructions. The old bazars are still attracting crowds for their variety, while fashionable malls are equally liked by new age city dwellers. The tranquil locales, modern infrastructure and a relaxed lifestyle has been attracting people from all over to make this city as their home for years and with time, its charm has only increased.
5 reasons why one should buy property in Lucknow
Today,
Lucknow has emerged as one of the country’s most important cities. Lucknow is
now emerging in various sectors such as retailing, manufacturing and IT after
securing its position in the smart cities of India, thanks to a proactive
government. As
a natural corollary, the city is attracting many developers and homebuyers with
the growth of new infrastructure. Here is a list of top 5 reasons, why one
should look at investing in a good property in Lucknow.
Lucknow
Metro – Every city in India has faced chaotic traffic as it
grew. Lucknow, however, escaped this due to visionary planning of
infrastructure agencies. The metro rail work was started ahead of time and
resulted in being ready when the city would have faced challenges of traffic.
It makes moving around in the city very comfortable.
Connectivity
with the world – Lucknow boasts of a modern international
airport and a railway station connected to almost every city in India through
an efficient network. Unlike most other cities, both these places have
excellent connectivity with rest of the city. The Shaheed path connecting to
airport from the developed areas of the city is a testimony to the foresight of
city planners.
Recreational
facilities – Lucknow has many places to spend a day either in
complete relaxation or by engaging in an activity one likes. Two cricket
stadiums in the city, with the latest one, Atal Behari Vajpayee stadium even
hosting international cricket matches, have brought the most played game in
India to its residents in a spectacular fashion. The museums, cinema halls and
a host of other such facilities ensure that one never feels lack of recreation
options in this city.
Medical
and educational infrastructure – This city rubs shoulders
with the top metros of India, when it comes to educational and medical
infrastructure. With top schools and colleges, an IIM, a AIIMS equivalent
hospital with multiple top notch private hospitals, Lucknow offers a peace of
mind like no other similar city in India. The city provides the best
environment for a child to engage in various activities, while studying for a
multi-faceted development.
Modern
retail – Lucknowites have adopted to modern retail like fish
to water. Latest malls like Phoenix and Fun republic have attracted and
introduced people to the best national and international brands. The ubiquitous
fashionable city dweller, mixing with the people in traditional attire make
this city as lovely as one could get.
There
are a few locations which have harnessed these advantages to the maximum. A
couple of residential complexes, Arka and Aadyant by Paarth Infrabuild in Gomti
Nagar Extension, located right next to Phoenix mall and Atal Behari Vajpayee
stadium, bang on Shaheed path are the kind of location, one can only imagine
for that coveted home.
Lucknow is capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. Lucknow is always known as the cultural hub of north India and is also fast emerging as the biggest commercial hub of North India outside of Delhi NCR region. The infrastructural facilities in the city rival the best in the country in all aspects. It is the safest town in Uttar Pradesh with state-of-the-art policing protecting its residents. The medical facilities available in the City both in public as well as in private sector promise to protect people of the city from any eventuality. Lucknow city weaves a magic encapsulating traditional ambience with Rapid and ambitious futuristic growth. This unique blend of culture with social infrastructure defines the charm of the city and entices large swathes of population to make it their home every year.
Lucknow housing market – Opportunity for investors and end-users
While Lucknow has always been known for its culture, it has witnessed some of the best developments in last one decade. The ubiquitous metro rail covering the serpentine lanes below has a place of pride and convenience. The expanded airport connecting its citizenry to destinations across the world has opened the gateway to commercial centers of the world, while the newly constructed expressway connects this airpot to the pockets of commercial excellence within the city. The modern highway to Agra, connecting further to Delhi gives wings to the ambitions of ever-so-eager entrepreneurs from the city. The health infrastructure here stands shoulder to shoulder with any city in the world, what with Sanjay gandhi post graduate institute leading the medical facilities in this part of the world. The private investment has reposed its faith in these initiatives and contributed to creation of job opportunities in different sphere. The swanky complexes of IT companies stand a testimony to these efforts. While Lucknow has never been a manufacturing hub with that title belonging to its twin city Kanpur, the new age industries are finding an elevation to their pitch here. Lucknow of yore was dotted with flea markets, but the new buzzing Lucknow challenges the hegemony of traditional retail centers with the giant shopping complexes that balance the nawabi charm and the poetic humdrum with the hustle and bustle of modern busy life, ever so delicately. The Atal bihari Vajpayee international cricket stadium has added to the charm and utility, occasionally acting as a magnet to the city. Quality education is another pillar that has supported the residents of this boom-town in achieving their dreams. From foundation schools to a world class university bringing out the best in its students, the city embraces students from all nationalities and faith and gives them the values that highlight their achievements years later.
The thriving economy and an ambitious middle class population has resulted in this city growing. No wonder then, that it has reported to have one of the highest growth in disposable income in the country in a decade. Exposure to modern life style and a high disposable income has upped the propensity to invest for a better way of life. Residents of adjoining towns and cities and also from rest of Uttar Pradesh always invested in Lucknow city. The state being an agrarian rich region, has seen the incomes going up in small towns and cities, resulting in citizens looking for better life-style and therefore heading to Lucknow. A home in Lucknow is a matter of pride for anybody living in any part of of eastern Uttar Pradesh. It has become more so in recent times as both the business as per the job opportunities give fast in this city. Earlier Kanpur used to be the business hub with Lucknow the Cultural Centre, but now Lucknow holds both these titles.
Lucknow has also seen significant political stability for almost A decade now. It has helped the infrastructure projects to complete in time and the town to grow in a planned manner. Private developers of national and international repute have also launched various residential and commercial projects in the city with world class amenities and architecture. This has also enticed old residents of the city living in crowded and less developed localities to buy a home and live in modern housing societies. Therefore, while most of the urban centers in India have struggled to maintain the speed of sales of houses and the prices, Lucknow real estate market has seen a consistent growth, both in terms of price appreciation and number of units sold. Localities like Gomti Nagar and Kanpur Road have seen significant traction from buyers. A lot of these projects which were launched a few years back have been completed and residents have shifted in. This has further boosted the confidence of end-users to invest in new properties. This, in turn, has offered incremental returns on investments for investors and therefore they keep flocking to various projects.
Other factors which have influenced this trend are – availability of land within a reasonable distance from City Centre, relatively low cost of construction and availability of comparatively cheap labour. This has enabled the developers to offer excellent propositions to buyers within their budget. Buying a property in Delhi NCR have continued to be unaffordable for a middle class buyer and the same customer finds excellent choices at affordable price points of between 40 and 70 lacs here. Lucknow city has seen multiple large investments in the real estate housing sector and it is expected to continue to see the same going forward as people across the cities restart their life after the pause due to covid-19.
Lucknow housing market is expected to see hectic activity, as people are looking to stay near the places where educational and medical facilities offered meet the word standard. The availability of ever increasing employment opportunities makes Lucknow even more attractive. The administrative reforms initiated by the present government in last two years have started yielding results making the Civic infrastructure in Lucknow reach newly developing localities. Lucknow reality market is slowly turning into the proverbial gold pot for the investors and the best place to live in for the end user.
Countries like India are witnessing a very fast migration of population from rural areas to urban areas. It is also showing in the reducing weightage of agriculture in the GDP. This has been a phenomena observed worldwide – today’s developed world had seen it in the middle of last century coinciding with the industrial revolution. There are lessons to be learnt from those examples and plan for it in advance. Communities across country will be compelled to adopt technologies and processes keeping this reality in perspective.
Urbanisation – Opportunity for smart growth
With more and more of population living in cities, urbanization is bringing in significant changes to social and economic structure of these. It’s also exerting significant pressure on infrastructure and resources and potentially opening the door to urban catastrophe if prior planning is not done. At the same moment, it gives local governments an opportunity to plan and correct the infrastructural and social disparities of past. If cities don’t work for entrepreneurs, employers, and citizens in the same breath, then the related flows of trade, technology, infrastructure and employment will be squeezed. Creating a master plan of fast growing cities, taking into account also the rural areas that it is likely to swallow, is just the first step. If administrations can harness data-driven intelligence to identify appropriate opportunities and priorities and create a smart plan it will ensure an equitable and futuristic development. Another opportunity which this phenomena offers is to get the data of all the various departments to talk to each other through smart algorithms and use it to create a seamless urban perspective. It will help in deploying predictive services ensuring right services to the right population group, at the right time.
Latching on to this idea, a number of cities, ably pushed by central government, have started working to create smart cities, though with varying understanding. Some look at it as use of technology to optimize the urban infrastructure and traffic flow. Others look at it as a push towards initiating smart governance, where policy making is more driven by data and logic and oriented towards its citizens. Some technologically advanced administrators are planning to use Internet of Things (IoT) platforms to monitor city infrastructures, which means managing everything from traffic flows and parking to water and air quality through centrally controlled and data driven approach. Data generated thus, can be used to further enhance environmental sustainability and creation of renewable energy resources.
Most urban centers in India are struggling with a creaking infrastructure and legacy planning issues. Therefore, this opportunity to reorient and plan for fast urbanisation opens new roads to set it right. A data based smart planning will help orient cities around a couple of central themes and can deliver a citizen-centric development. The planning for employment opportunities, future patterns of flow of people and more equitable social development will set these cities on a growth path. If we miss this opportunity now, our cities will end up being chaotic masses which will be a social and economic disaster. The choice between a smart growth and an urban mess is to be made now.
The real estate market heading into the current crisis has sometimes been described as the real test of character of developers. The deepening economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is felt worldwide. It is not only the immediate economic challenges which are worrying developers, but also the imminent social and behaviour changes in buyers. It will push us to learn to cope with and embrace a new professional paradigm.
What should developers do in a challenging market
Despite the chaos that’s taking hold in the broader market, real estate developers can apply brave but smart strategies to keep their projects going and assets producing. There have been instances of existing businesses cutting down on their manpower or reducing salaries across the board, which will leave lesser money in the hands of consumers, resulting in problems with existing customers who may be on an instalment plan. Also the prospective buyers will be squeezed for funds and there is real danger of reducing per unit price. Some of the investors who had been holding on to their investments in the hope of better returns, may come out to sell in desperation, forcing the prices further down.
What then, a real estate developer can do to survive and come out stronger on the other side of this crisis. There are opportunities which will need to be tapped with a suitable plan. In the space of customer inquiries, it will be prudent to increase spends on creating brand in digital world. With people spending more time indoors and working long hours on their computers, it is quite intelligent to create a connect with customers online. Also, customers try to interact with brands in various ways as online search and research is very intuitive. The developers who could create a simulacrum of the customer buying cycle and fill all the gaps that might exist in digital brand positioning, will walk away with bulk of online enquiries. It would be worth presenting to customers the options understanding the current state of customers.
Another opportunity that presents itself to the developers is in terms of canvassing for upgradation. There is a sizeable chunk of people, who have paid off the housing loans they had taken for their first homes. It is time to give them compelling reason to upgrade or buy another property. Historically low interest rates and availability of good options at considerably stable prices will drive in bargain hunting investors with surplus funds. Can a developer reorient its product proposition to suit their requirements.
The onset of long term social and behavioural changes should also be considered in redrawing the product design as much as possible. In days ahead, functionality of design will win over luxury. It will be smart to reorient designs keeping the new social habits people will form. A great outdoors within the precincts of project may become more attractive than a high end club house. Large open though covered spaces for small group conversations would be inviting for more people than a large banquet hall. Provision of health care facilities and good house keeping services will trump a restaurant or a coffee shop. A developer sensitising and orienting the design and construction team to these realities will be a winner compared to the ones who don’t do this.
Every challenge hides an opportunity in its lap. It needs effort to recognise the same and work to capitalise to come out on top once the challenging situation is over. Time will tell us how manages the crisis period proactively and wins and who gets crushed under the weight of inaction.
India is witnessing an unprecedented growth in urbanization. Better health care facilities and educational and job opportunities are driving people from rural areas to urban centers and resulting in huge population growth. This brings the challenges of land planning and environmental control to town planners. Expanding cities horizontally to make room for all these people will end up destroying more natural resources and therefore vertical growth of cities is being considered as a viable option. Building upward instead of outward enables us to host large number of people in a small area, conserving land and natural resources. The remaining and available land, therefore, could be used to create civic infrastructure for the population living in the locality.
Vertical expansion – Answer to urban land scarcity
The advent of high-rise buildings have also coincided with provision of world class amenities in housing projects. A vertical growth also offers people living on higher floors a panoramic view of the city around and makes life beautiful. A high floor living also avoids noise pollution and other challenges which affect quality of life in low rise developments. Various amenities including car parking etc can be managed in the basement and lower floors to ensure a smooth passageway to walkers. With fast lifts fitted in these buildings there is no challenge in moving between floors. In fact, all the premium buildings in mega cities like Mumbai and Delhi NCR are vertical developments.
Vertical buildings could also offer other environmental benefits. Having numerous services and amenities in the same tower would reduce the need for moving around. This can also save fuel and energy.
These buildings also create social connectivity by making it easier for individuals to socialize in common areas and visit friends. More like minded people in one place also offers opportunities to create micro-communities based on interest in these housing societies, reducing the need to go out and socialize. As more families live in a small foot-print, it is easy to develop social and civic infrastructure in that area as the users are already there.
Earlier people were concerned about multiple inconveniences related to high-rise living. However, with advent of better technology in almost every aspect, these are no more the real challenges. The modern building design and construction technologies ensure that we can keep building higher without worrying about structural safety. In fact, these building designs are more resilient than the traditional low floor construction. Most Indian cities have now 24*7 power supply, resulting in no downtime for various equipments including elevators in these buildings. The building safety norms are in place and following these is mandatory, making these buildings safer. Also, a behavioural factor weighs in, as high rise developments are done only by large developers with help from reputed construction companies, they offer better construction quality than the houses built by part time developers.
Vertical expansion of cities, without a doubt is viable solution to urban land scarcity. For the people who live there, also taste the luxuries of life which are not easily available in low height developments. It is not uncommon to see a prestige associated with this living.
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