Good morning, somehow, we made it, to the last day of 2021.
When this year started, historic data sets concerning pandemics were treated lightly, and big predictions were made about 2021 and it's bag of goodies.
While most of those forecasts turned out to be very, very wrong, we will channel the same hopeful spirit and wish you and your loved ones a wonderful New Year.
Just be careful who you kiss tonight, that’s all.
😷↔1 metre↔😷
Note: We will be back in your mailboxes on January 04, 2022.
The Blurbs You Loved The Most
We admit that our first blurb appeared on the face of the internet only in September 2021, but between then to now, here are the 3 real estate blurbs that you folks read the most.
🥇 RERA Gets Retrospective Powers: The Supreme Court in its recent judgement held that, the legislative intent of RERA was not only to include projects that were yet to start after the act came into force but also ongoing projects to protect the rights of homebuyers, promoters and real estate agents.
🥈 Virtual Plot Sells For A Record USD2.4 Million: When real estate sales went online, it got us really excited. But when a virtual (reminder: not online, this virtual plot exists only on the internet) plot just sold for a record 2.4 million dollars, it's blown our minds to metaverse come.
🥉 Data Is The New Architect: The growing volume of data on consumer and crowd behaviour is having significant implications on real estate design. It’s making even physical space more interactive for marketers.
Come Dive In
Hey! We've got big dreams for 2022, particularly remembering how to write the date correctly before March.
But there's also a lot to think about in terms of moving forward from everything that happened in 2021.
So today, as part of our year-end series, we're diving into what's next for the real estate sector.
Housing: Demand for housing is on the uptick and expected to sustain through 2022 and beyond. Bigger homes on the outskirts of metro cities are flying off the shelves like banana, meaning a price rise is inevitable in the new year.
Office: Demand for new office will take a while to reach pre-pandemic level, as the Omicron - Delta tag team push back return to office dates globally. However, most forecasts say 2022 will be better than 2021 for the office segment.
Retail: Very quickly, retailers are not lining up to lease new stores these days. That means class/grade A malls and shopping centres will hold on to current lease rents, but any retail real estate below top class will struggle with occupancy, fresh leasing and per sq. ft. rentals.
Warehousing: Industrial and warehousing real estate performed very well in 2021 and we expect that trend to continue well into 2022. With an industrial push by the Centre and our newfound love for ecommerce, ‘hunky-dory’ is the outlook for this segment.
Data Centres: Currently, India’s data centre industry is concentrated in four cities–Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai, with Mumbai taking top slot in installed capacity. The market size is expected to grow from 375MW in H1 2020 to 1,078MW by 2025, registering a CAGR of 21%.
Iconic Image 2021: Healthcare
To mark the administration of the one billionth dose of vaccine against the coronavirus, four members of the nursing staff at the Ramaiah Hospital in Bangalore posed in October for a photograph in the guise of the widely-revered Goddess Durga.
We unanimously voted this as our most iconic image of the year.
(Getty Images & BBC)
Iconic Image 2021: Environment
Addressing the UN climate conference in Glasgow, the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu's foreign minister Simon Kofe stood in a suit at a lectern thigh-deep in seawater to demonstrate how rising sea levels and the accelerating climate crisis threaten his low-lying nation.
Our runner up among the iconic images of 2021.
(Reuters)
Before You Serve That Year End Meal
As winter sets in, Afghan widow Kubra needs to find fuel to heat the single room where eight family members live in the central province of Bamiyan. The flour they bought months ago is running out, so food is also becoming scarce.
"We got two sacks of flour last spring which we're still using. After that, we have to have faith that God will help us," the 57-year-old told Reuters in a room lined with rice sacks to keep out the cold.
While we bring another year to an end with the best on our plates and in our glasses, let's never forget those like Kubra, living among us, unseen, unknown.
🙏
---------------
We wish all of you a very happy new year. It's time to treat yourself. You've earned it.
Have a good day. 💚
☕ The Crew@Ginger Chai