Harish is an accomplished business transformation expert with tremendous experience in real estate advisory. He also has hands on knowledge in areas like; stock broking & wealth management, institutional equities involving both start-up and growth organisations. Harish has a successful track record of over 20 years in building profitable businesses across diversified segments including new markets identification. He is known for providing stability and sustainability across the business cycle. Harish has, over the years demonstrated a balanced approach towards setting up high-performance teams, risk management, and client centric processes.
The real estate industry has witnessed a roller-coaster ride for the last few years. The onset of the pandemic further pushed the industry to embrace a sharp change. After a major slump of more than 7 years from 2013 to 2020, the real estate sector has showed signs of revival in the past one year. The consumers of today are more aware and conscious about the return on their investments than ever before, which has caused real estate companies to change how they cater to their clients’ requirements. Thus, any company that is still focused on boosting sales and profits won’t possibly sustain long-term in this economy.
So, what is it that the real estate developers should consider to see significant growth? It all starts with evolving and adapting to changing consumer mindset and behavior. The digital surge and uncertain times have made the new-generation buyers more discerning, technologically adept, and value-focused. Factors impacting consumer decision are now changing with features like access to flexible design, environmentally sustainable, and fully automated development among others gaining more importance. However, making this transition to the new reality isn’t easy.
Listed below are some key challenges real estate companies and developers are currently facing when trying to implement new solutions to catch up with shifting buyer’s perspective.
- Accommodating amenities around people’s needs
Most of the real estate buyers invest a major fortunate of their life in purchasing a dream property. However, the uncertainties emanated from the pandemic – let it be job losses, wage reductions, or business shutdowns – have made buyers hesitant and conscious of where they divert their finances. As markets are steadily recovering, experts believe the demand for residential real estate will swiftly rise in the next year or so. But these unpredictable experiences have changed consumer tastes and preferences in terms of real estate. The investors that once cared more about construction quality, property price, and land record are now prioritizing new financing options, proximity to healthcare centres and educational institutes, availability of home automation systems, and optimum usability of spaces. Thus, developers and real estate companies are juggling to design and create properties that meet different consumer preferences whilst making the project profitable.
- Maximizing digital and analytics driven sales
Owing to the global lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic, there has been a considerable drop in physical site visits by both agents and property buyers. Moreover, the changing market dynamics and advancements in technology have driven consumers to expect a more personalized sales experience and developers to embrace digital methods to establish transactions. With AR and VR technology, property buyers are looking to experience a virtual tour of not only the house but also its neighbourhood and amenities. To level up the entire consumer journey, developers also have the pressure to leverage data analytics to create consume-specific content, generate leads, and analyze trends. In turn, this has offered a great opportunity to developers to equip their target and existing investors with details about under-construction and ready-to-move-in projects, thereby leading to better and faster deals.
- Maintaining buyer’s trust with transparency
The real estate industry has long known for being largely unorganized with no standard systems for price regulations. Countless investors have faced the wrath of unfair property prices, which when compared to the initial cost, shows a huge gap. Experiences like these have built the fear of being duped among consumers. Reputed real estate advisory firms like Plinthstone REMA along with a few others have managed to narrow this trust-transparency gap using digital platforms, structured sales processes, and fair pricing systems. From a larger perspective, the more a developer establishes trust with the investors, the better consumer experience he or she can deliver.
- Meeting regulatory compliance and industry standards
Real estate has by-and-large remained an old-fashioned business. The entrance of RERA has safeguarded buyers’ interests from fraudulent practices but increased challenges and pressure on developers for delivering timely projects whilst adhering to quality standards. An added hurdle for the developers is to refrain from doing over-the-top advertisements as stated under RERA. On the flip side, those fulfilling the project timelines and have a good past record instantly gain an edge over others. Real estate companies and developers who have successfully navigated these requirements are preferred by buyers, leading to better sales and profits. Perhaps, the existence of RERA is double-edged sword for developers striving to stay afloat.
Takeaway
In this fiercely-competitive and swiftly-changing market scenario, the real estate companies and developers need to rethink their strategies and make their businesses more consumer-centric. Accurately anticipating consumer preferences play an important role in company’s sustainability.