Continuing his insightful discussion with Priyanka Kapoor of QuikrHomes, M D Zahir, Managing Director of Ahad Builders talks about the current real estate market and the future growth prospects of Bangalore’s real estate market. Here are the excerpts.

How do you see the real estate market in Bangalore vis-a-vis other metros?

Bangalore has become a very popular IT destination on the world map. It stands out all across the world. I won’t say Bangalore is not experiencing a slowdown but it is not as bad as other metros. Every week in the paper you will see 2-3 new launches. Hence, there is still some growth which may not be as great as expected.

What is that one thing that you would like to change about the Bangalore Real Estate market? (In terms of policies, rules and regulations, etc.)

Transparency from the government is the main requirement in the present scenario. They say there is a single-window clearance but that’s not true as nothing happens through it. Hence, if transparency comes in then even the customers will benefit a great deal. For every clearance required there is a bribe to be paid and if not done then it will not be cleared.

The recent BBMP demolition drive has put the buyers into a lot of trouble. Some key builders have also been named but as such no action has been taken against them. How fair is this and why not first punish the builder. Elaborate.

Obviously, the ones who have done wrong must be punished as there is no exception in the law. But having said that, people were not educated earlier as to what rajukulakas is or what the storm water drain is. It was the responsibility of the government and the concerned authorities to educate people about it. They never said so and over and above they sanctioned the plans.

But isn’t it the responsibility of the builders as well to also do a recee of the builder?

I agree, that it is also the responsibility of the builder to do a check before. But as far as builders are concerned, knowingly or unknowingly wrong has been done. But I am sure they will now be very alert and be more responsible.

Also Know about: “On time, all the time”- Motto of AHAD Builders

Which is the main segment (affordable, mid or luxury) that you think will do fairly better than the other. Which segment is your company currently focusing on?

We have properties in both luxury and mid-segment. But affordable segment is going very strong. But only thing is that these are located often outside the city (25-30km away from the city or working place). Only then it becomes affordable because cost of land is cheaper. While cost of construction remains more or less the same. While in mid and luxury segment they are located a little closer to workplaces etc.

What are your major current and upcoming real estate projects (residential / Commercial / retail) and in which areas and cities?

On Sarjapur Road we are likely to come with two projects including one which is called Ahad Opes. I applied for my sanctions almost 6 months back and still awaiting for it. It may take another month or two. Thus, on this stretch we will have 3 projects.

Also, close-by we are looking having affordable project almost 2.5km away from this one. We are also exploring possibilities of launching projects in Chitranayanhalli around 2-3 projects.

What are the challenges in releasing your unsold inventory? What keeps you moving?

It is simple. Word of mouth plays a very important role in the present scenario. If few customers are satisfied then it’s like wild fire. And somewhere some bad mouth comes in there you get stalled. On the whole people judge with quality and timely completion. The latter is very important because they would have taken money for interest. The moment their last instalment comes their interest meter will start whether or not they have got their property or not. People have to pay both their rentals and their EMIs. In such cases it becomes difficult. Hence, this is something which needs to be improved. They need to understand that project must be completed on time.

Social media is more like a villain than a friend because it carries only the bad words pf the buyer. Whenever a good thing is said about a project or builder it goes into the corner.

What are your company’s future plans and how do you think the sector will do in the coming quarters?

We have our youngsters with us. We are also coming up with layouts projects and also looking to venture into commercial like SEZs. These will be limited to Bangalore particularly in the Eastern part.