Brand Perception In Indian Real Estate

It is often assumed that Indian property buyers are more focused on budget than brand value. This is a glaring miscomprehension of the ground realities - in fact, few consumer classes are as attuned to the value of a brand than Indian homebuyers. Moreover, developers have been responding to this trend by making best practices in their offerings as well as business operations as an integral part of their manifesto, says Avind Jain, Managing Director - Pride Group.

In most Indian cities, reputed developers have maintained consistency in these aspects and are even raising the bar on best practices in construction design, quality and business transparency. This focus is a natural consequence of the need to remain relevant in a highly competitive market. Even in smaller cities such as Pune, quality developers are known for the higher grade of their deliverables on the market. This explains why certain brands command a greater degree of trust among consumers than others.

The fact is that real estate as a business, from construction to marketing of the end product, is one of the strongest contributors to the country's GDP. Real estate fulfills a very necessary need, as is evidenced by the unrelenting demand for homes all across the country.

Brand loyalty is certainly not missing in Indian realty. This is amply evidenced by the fact that certain brands command instant attention while others do not even register on buyers' radars unless questionable marketing ploys such as marked-down rates in exchange for inferior quality and location come into play. In India, home buyers are very aware of the fact that some developers can be expected to deliver on their promises, while others represent a potentially costly gamble. This is also why the more reputed developers have no problems with obtaining domestic as well as international institutional financing for their projects.

Nevertheless, the image that has been created about the real estate sector in general is a persistent one. When it comes to changing public perception, the primary instrument of change will always be the media. Unfortunately, the Indian media has made it its business to portray the entire real estate domain in a negative and mercenary light.

Indian real estate is becoming a force that even global players are beginning to take very seriously. This change will become more pronounced as more and more serious players come to the fore-front of the sector. We are already witnessing a process of consolidation wherein smaller players are merging with or selling their stakes to bigger names, since these banners of repute are able to sustain their businesses as a result of their larger market share, higher credibility quotients and their superior funding options.

Not surprisingly, many people continue choosing real estate as a career because the business is based on the strongest possible fundamentals. With the rapidly improving transparency norms and considerable success of reputed developers despite the challenging economic environment, it makes a lot of sense for qualified people to choose top-rated real estate companies as their career partners and be part of the great Indian real estate movement.