Average apartment size fell up to 26% in last five years
Average apartment sizes fell by up to 26% in the last five years across seven major cities as developers are making smaller flats to boost their sales in a sluggish housing market, according to global property consultant JLL India. To beat slowdown in the real estate market, particularly residential segment, builders are cutting the flat sizes but not reducing the housing prices.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, witnessed the maximum fall in apartment sizes on annualised basis, along with Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. Builders are exploring innovative ways to make residential housing across major cities more appealing to potential buyers at a time when it is increasingly becoming difficult to sell expensive apartments.
‘Tectonic shift’
“Around the country, builders are emulating the famous sachet marketing strategy adopted by FMCG companies in the late 1990s,” JLL India Chairman and Country Head Anuj Puri said in a statement. In its latest research report ‘Is Indian Real Estate Heading Towards A Tectonic Shift?’, JLL India examined the transitions domestic real estate has undergone over the past decade. “Among the major trends is how developers have been decreasing apartment sizes to suit affordability of buyers,” he added.
Quantity over quality
Unable to sell expensive homes in a sluggish market, Puri said the builders across India are making smaller apartments without lowering the price per square feet and compromising on the quality of product. Mumbai saw a decrease of 26.4% in the past five years. Bengaluru registered a 23.7% reduction in average apartment sizes, while Kolkata witnessed a 24% cut in flat sizes and Chennai by 22.2%.
This article was originally published on www.thehindu.com dated August 19, 2015.
Source: www.thehindu.com