Mumbai homebuyers prefer established developers to smaller ones

As home-buyers in Mumbai make a bee-line for established names, smaller players are gasping for breath.

Given the project delays and reduced launches, the home-buyer are looking for established names, report CNBC-TV18’s Kevin Lee and Ritu Singh.There are over 1000 developers in Mumbai but many of whom exist only because of the unorganised structure of Mumabi's real estate market.  However, things have become tougher with trouble on the funding front, coupled by a slump in demand leading to high inventories and delayed launches. So most of them cannot boast of even close to a double-digit market share and many of the smaller players are gasping for breath, more because increasingly, home-buyers are thinking twice about whom they're buying a house from.

Prashant Bindal, Chief Sales Officer, Lodha Group says, “Customers have become discerning about the types of projects they want, and want value over any offers and are opting for these trusted names and brands.”

So while smaller players struggle to sell even completed projects, the big names have shown some strong numbers.

Lodha Group, for instance, has been able to sell Rs 600 crore worth of flats every month this year. Other brands like Godrej Properties, Oberoi Realty and Hiranandani have also made significant headway with sales.

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Kevin Lee

Reporter|CNBC-TV18

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This has experts saying that by as early as April next year, Mumbai will have far fewer developers.

According to Anuj Puri, Country Head, JLL, we will see weaker developers getting out of this, and stronger developer getting full control – the developers with financial discipline and wherewithal to provide the right customer-centric approach to the consumer.

And this process will only pick up speed once the Real Estate Regulator becomes reality because the mandate of that watchdog is to weed out unscrupulous fly-by-night developers, and give an already cautious customer access to a fairer, more competitive and better-regulated market.