Real estate developers who have been operating for a decade and more, newly-formed entities of large conglomerates, and also those with sizeable areas under development either locally or Pan-India, are now recognized as branded developers.

Real estate players with high-recall brands have upped their game and accounted for a whopping 56% share of the total housing supply in 2018. There has been a y-o-y rise in their share since 2015, when their share of the supply stood at 41%.

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Most top branded developers have moved beyond their previously unwavering focus on luxury or ultra-luxury housing and now include the affordable and mid-income segments in their portfolios. The incumbent Government has raised the stature of these segments from ‘down market’ to ‘respectable’- and even patriotic – via various sops, incentives, schemes and a very clear message to the real estate market.

Most large players are looking to significantly increase their overall supply in these segments and have sharply reduced their supply in the luxury and ultra-luxury segments.

  • Prestige Estates brought its premium housing supply down from 2.02 mn sq. ft. in Q4 2018 to 1.11 mn sq. ft. in Q4 2018. Concurrently, it launched nearly 5 mn sq. ft. space in the mid segment (<80 lakh budget) in Q4 2018 – as opposed to 4.27 mn sq. ft. the previous year
  • Puravankara’s affordable luxury brand Provident Housing increased its new supply in Q4 2018 jump to 10.59 mn sq. ft. as against 6.63 mn sq. ft. a year ago. Meanwhile, its premium offerings under Puravankara brand saw a 5% decline over the same period. 
  • Based on its affordable supply, Bangalore-based Sobha Ltd. saw sales increase to 2.9 mn sq. ft. in Q4 2018 against 2.61 mn sq. ft. a year ago. Their average price realization also dropped during the same period – from INR 7,853 per sq. ft. to INR 7,592 per sq. ft.

Other leading builders to join the affordable housing fray include Embassy Group and Brigade Enterprises, among several others.