Driven by the downturn, expensive apartments and villas have ceased to be high-return investments in India, thereby finishing off the only remaining reason for buying one such unit in the country. The only exceptions are ultra-low-cost homes and the high-value offerings from a few national developers.
First, a little history.
Late 2007. Seasonal Magazine issued an advisory to homebuyers:
‘AVOID BUYING APARTMENTS NOW’
It was also the cover story for our August 2007 Issue.
Needless to say, those who heeded this advice saved lakhs of hard-earned money. Those who didn’t, lost millions. Some lost crores.
We still get mails from some unexpected part of this globe, thanking us for this advice. NRIs are everywhere these days, but when it comes to a home, they want one in their mother-country.
Our cover story was no run-of-the-mill feature. It was well-researched and contained the distilled essence of our extensive interactions with developers and homebuyers across India, for more than 7 years.
And it was whistle-blowing at its best. Imagine predicting the market a good 14 months ahead! It was at the right moment in time, because homes tend to be long-drawn affairs for most homebuyers, thanks to the exorbitant prices that can only be financed through 10, 15, or 20 year loans.
And it was not only for the benefit of homebuyers. Many developers too gained by listening to this predictive story, and turning their products more homebuyer friendly.
We cited 8 rock-solid reasons why it was foolish to opt for a branded home then. If you haven’t read this story yet, we have posted a synopsis for you here:
Seasonal Magazine – August 2007 – Cover Story - AVOID BUYING APARTMENTS NOW
You will find that many of these 8 reasons are still valid, if not more valid.
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