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Investment in luxury real estate is capital preservation, not appreciation, say industry experts

Luxury in the times to come will certainly thrive, says Ananta Raghuvanshi, Senior ED, Sales & Marketing, Experion. Speaking at Realty Webseries, a Realty & More and ICCPL initiative, Raghuvanshi said that there will be a situation where luxury housing units will be in short supply because a lot of builders, developers are moving to the mid segment and also to the affordable segment.

“So, suddenly when the supply and demand ratio changes, then obviously market dynamics gets hit by it”, said Raghuvanshi.

Speaking on sales of luxury houses during the lockdown, Karan Kumar, CMO, DLF Ltd said that the company has sold luxury housing units worth Rs 200 cr during the period.

“Over the last 60 days in one segment of super luxury that we operate, we have closed business which is close to Rs 100 crores. In another super luxury segment we have closed another Rs 100 crore’, said Kumar. On asking if investments in luxury housing will yield returns, Vikas Wadhawan, Group CFO, Housing.com, PropTiger.com, Makaan.com said capital appreciation is going to take some more time in the real estate market. “We have seen prices not going up for

the last 3-4 years and with pandemic, I don’t see prices will suddenly start going up. Capital appreciation will still be distant for the time being”, said Wadhwan. On the same issue, Amit Goyal, CEO – India, Sotheby’s International Realty said investment in luxury housing is more of a capital preservation these days than the appreciation.

“In times of crisis appreciation is not the first parameter for any investor. In a nutshell demand may rise for end use, but it will take time”, added Goyal.Elaborating further on real estate investments, Mona Jalota, Founder, Krypton Global Investments said investors who are investing in real estate shall set their benchmarks for themselves.

“There is always going to be somebody who has bought at a higher price than you and somebody who has bought at a price lower than you, so you have to make peace with what your budget is and take a decision and take a decision to buy or sell when you make your own parameter”. On asking about the better option between condominium and farmhouse, Yukti Nagpal, Director, Gulshan said that condominium living is definitely on the rise.

“Maintaining a condominium is much easier and hassle-free than maintaining a full farmhouse, there are two world apart situations”, added Nagpal.On the matter, Raheja Group Director Nayan Raheja said luxury condominiums and farmhouses are two very different typologies and these are also locational.