Good morning, the 13th BRICS Summit highlighted the need for more international alliances to jumpstart economic recovery while the world's largest carbon sucking machine was turned on in Iceland.
Don't start getting your hopes up for Diwali night yet because despite being the world's biggest, the Orca plant can suck up the equivalent CO2 of only 870 cars annually.
Back home, real estate regulatory bodies are becoming increasingly aware and the consumer's best interests are finally on priority. And since sustained demand is the only way out of the gloomy room the sector is stuck in, regulatory activity is going in the right direction.
Enjoy today's Chai and just a reminder that we'll be back again on Monday morning.
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FINANCE
Taking Stock
For real estate stock watchers, the forecast ahead says, ‘favourable weather’.
What’s Going Right?
Reducing Inventory – While new project launches in the affordable to mid segment have been very less in the last year-and-a-half, sustained demand has ensured that unsold inventory has been diminishing.
Affordable Housing Finance – Home loans are now cheaper than ever while being available to more and more folks across the country. Home ownership is now more about the monthly EMI cost than the total cost of the purchase.
Suburbunisation – COVID has caused a certain amount of reverse migration from metro cities, meaning more people with high purchasing power have gone back to their smaller hometowns, firing up demand for high quality housing.
For investors, stock market expert Ajay Bagga suggests an optimistic yet careful approach - “I would just caution that go with the players who are not leveraged. Many of the leveraged players have been wiped out. South and the west based real estate companies look much stronger, balance sheet wise and they will benefit.”
He is also of the opinion that optimistic fundamental analysts do stay a step ahead but this time around, the real incoming growth for real estate over the next two years looks legit.
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OFF PLAN
Please Don't Answer
More than 400 families of the Sahariya and Gadiya Lohar tribes in the Baran district of Rajasthan found their applications for free housing under the PMAY scheme rejected because they were found to be landline phone subscribers!
FYI, under the PMAY housing scheme, the Government of India provides financial aid of INR 1.5 lacs to individuals for building their homes on land that they legally possess. For the landless and homeless, there are schemes where homes of a certain value are provided free of cost.
PMAY housing schemes clearly specify that families/individuals that own landlines, fridges, phones, motorcycles and property are not eligible.
All applications for PMAY housing are scrutinised and then recommended to the authorities by the Gram Panchayat (both the Sarpanch and the Pradhan sign off on it).
Local activists feel this is a gross error as most of the people facing rejections currently live without electric connections, let alone a landline phone.
Sub-divisional officer Dudi quoted to The Times of India, “Once the application is filed manually, the process of scrutinising the application is online. The form is linked with aadhaar card and whether the family owns any of the items that debar them from the scheme is done automatically. It appears that the rejection was made due to some technical error.”
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PROPTECH
- Tata Power will install EV chargers in Lodha Group developments across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune, for use by all the projects' residents and visitors.
- Manufacturing, real estate and construction firms have managed a new feat - a 71% share of all companies which are currently in bankruptcy tribunals. Real estate consultants, marketing folks and brokers, each time you get paid, you are witnessing a small miracle.
- Two consecutive drone surveys carried out by forest authorities have uncovered that over 250 acres of forest area in and around Gurgaon have been encroached upon illegally.
Don't just keep the Chai to yourself, share it with your friends, colleagues and perhaps your father too. They'll remember you and love us for it. [*GIF at Tenor]
Have a great weekend and see you all on Monday morning.
☕ The Crew@Ginger Chai
Version Territory
India’s real estate industry has always readily embraced technology and the convenience it brings – yes, almost 100% of real estate firms (one-man, small, medium, big and gigantic included) have been thriving on MS Excel for decades now.
Jokes apart but the PropTech world has moved on from the Jurassic age most of us are still stuck in, meaning big rewards await the brave souls who can align all of Indian real estate to the latest version of PropTech.
PropTech and its Versions
PropTech, short for property technology is the use of information technology (IT) to enable organisations and people search and discover, sell, buy and manage properties.
Just like FinTech is about the use of technology in finance, PropTech employs tech to address the growing needs of the real estate sector.
Growing needs = Evolving Tech
PropTech Version 1.0 (1980 to 2000) – The PC days. Property Market Analysis (PMA) was founded in London in 1982 to develop and sell the outputs of PC-driven property research. In the construction technology world, 1982 saw the launch of Autodesk and CAD took over real estate design.
Jokes apart but the PropTech world has moved on from the Jurassic age most of us are still stuck in, meaning big rewards await the brave souls who can align all of Indian real estate to the latest version of PropTech.
PropTech and its Versions
PropTech, short for property technology is the use of information technology (IT) to enable organisations and people search and discover, sell, buy and manage properties.
Just like FinTech is about the use of technology in finance, PropTech employs tech to address the growing needs of the real estate sector.
Growing needs = Evolving Tech
PropTech Version 1.0 (1980 to 2000) – The PC days. Property Market Analysis (PMA) was founded in London in 1982 to develop and sell the outputs of PC-driven property research. In the construction technology world, 1982 saw the launch of Autodesk and CAD took over real estate design.
Argus - leading global provider of software for the analysis and management of commercial real estate investments, was first established in the mid to late 1980s. Yardi, CoStar along with MS Excel dominated PropTech 1.0.
But these software modules required heavy customization for individual clients and were closed in nature, making them unpopular and exclusive to top players only. (We Indians are thus very happy with MS Excel.)
PropTech Version 2.0 (2001 to present) - While the internet connected PC facilitated the growth of PropTech 1.0, PropTech 2.0 has been unleashed by open-source software, free search and discovery platforms, ecommerce, social networking and the multi-platform real estate world.
But these software modules required heavy customization for individual clients and were closed in nature, making them unpopular and exclusive to top players only. (We Indians are thus very happy with MS Excel.)
PropTech Version 2.0 (2001 to present) - While the internet connected PC facilitated the growth of PropTech 1.0, PropTech 2.0 has been unleashed by open-source software, free search and discovery platforms, ecommerce, social networking and the multi-platform real estate world.
PropTech 3.0 (Currently transitioning) – Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) led solutions for sales, rentals, interior decoration, building management, big data analysis, 3D assets, valuation and much more as new start-ups bring to the market new and innovative PropTech ideas.
Stuck in Reverse
India is a big country which is not defined by its few metropolitan cities. The real estate market goes deep inland where a majority of the sector’s players are still conducting most of their business using PropTech V1.0 tools, while scale-enabling CRM software has become the norm for larger players in the metros.
Today, it is this version gap across India which is limiting universal and transparent access to real estate functions, stunting sector growth.
Fill the Version Gap, Laugh to the Bank
Indian PropTech players need to seriously ponder on some such questions to unlock the country’s massive real estate potential.
Why not sell real estate via an online platform using customer feedback instead of biased professional advice? (Facebook/ LinkedIn have created networks that have a scale and global reach well beyond the capacity of any real estate broker.)
Why not deploy online rural networks for the marketing of real estate?
Why not provide easy access to opensource software to all Indian builders and brokers to allow a cheap entry to previously expensive technology solutions (real time inventory, remote booking and online payment processes).
And, why not distribute these SaaS products to smartphones, PCs and tabs via apps?
PropTech is designed to streamline and connect processes for participants in all stages of the real estate market, including buyers, sellers, brokers, lenders and landlords.
As a nation on the whole, it is time we aligned ourselves to its latest version to truly unlock growth.
Stuck in Reverse
India is a big country which is not defined by its few metropolitan cities. The real estate market goes deep inland where a majority of the sector’s players are still conducting most of their business using PropTech V1.0 tools, while scale-enabling CRM software has become the norm for larger players in the metros.
Today, it is this version gap across India which is limiting universal and transparent access to real estate functions, stunting sector growth.
Fill the Version Gap, Laugh to the Bank
Indian PropTech players need to seriously ponder on some such questions to unlock the country’s massive real estate potential.
Why not sell real estate via an online platform using customer feedback instead of biased professional advice? (Facebook/ LinkedIn have created networks that have a scale and global reach well beyond the capacity of any real estate broker.)
Why not deploy online rural networks for the marketing of real estate?
Why not provide easy access to opensource software to all Indian builders and brokers to allow a cheap entry to previously expensive technology solutions (real time inventory, remote booking and online payment processes).
And, why not distribute these SaaS products to smartphones, PCs and tabs via apps?
PropTech is designed to streamline and connect processes for participants in all stages of the real estate market, including buyers, sellers, brokers, lenders and landlords.
As a nation on the whole, it is time we aligned ourselves to its latest version to truly unlock growth.
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HALF A CUP EXTRA
- Karnataka's annual land guidance value (circle rate) survey is overdue, thanks to the pandemic induced lockdowns. For 2021, the revenue department is mulling reducing this benchmark pricing - builders and home buyers can rejoice but there's a flipside to it.
- Tata Power will install EV chargers in Lodha Group developments across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune, for use by all the projects' residents and visitors.
- Manufacturing, real estate and construction firms have managed a new feat - a 71% share of all companies which are currently in bankruptcy tribunals. Real estate consultants, marketing folks and brokers, each time you get paid, you are witnessing a small miracle.
- Two consecutive drone surveys carried out by forest authorities have uncovered that over 250 acres of forest area in and around Gurgaon have been encroached upon illegally.
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INSTANT KARMA
Have a great weekend and see you all on Monday morning.
☕ The Crew@Ginger Chai
P:S: Tonnes of sharing options below 🔽
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