A recent study in Chennai and its surrounding suburbs has revealed that a growing number of home buyers are looking for more affordable dwellings, which is incentivizing developers to cater to the budget segment of the market, according to reports.
The study, which was carried out by Cushman & Wakefield, a property consultancy, found that after the first quarter, the number of budget housing units launched consistently increased in 2016. While the demand is higher for compact and affordable apartments than luxury units, 124 mid-level units (2 BHK) and 748 premium units (3-4 BHK) were launched during the first four months of 2017. Understandably, no new projects have been announced in the luxury segment, which ranges from 3,000 to 4,000 square feet.
“About 20% of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) members, who used to focus primarily on upscale apartments, have turned their attention to budget flats because 65% of the demand is from the affordable sector. There are instances where plans of apartments in an area of 900 to 1,000 square feet were reworked to suit the requirements of budget houses after high-end properties did not attract customers,” N Nandakumar, former president of the Tamil Nadu chapter of CREDAI, was quoted as saying.