Integrated Townships Have Huge Potential
The recent slowdown may have impacted investments in integrated townships but there is still a huge potential in this segment and it will get better as the economy opens up.
You could call it a city within a city. It encompasses all aspects of modern day living within the development. Integrated township, as the name suggests, is a self-sustained township having a number of real estate developments, including residential, commercial, retail and institutional, as well as industrial areas in some cases.
There are many advantages of staying in such a township. These sustainable urban residential solutions give people a convenient and enjoyable living space in an ecofriendly environment. "Distance from the city allows its residents to stay away from traffic, pollution and congestion. Due to the nature of these large formats, the residents get more open and green spaces bringing them and their children in close proximity to nature," feels Om Chaudhry, CEO of Fire Capital Fund.
The real estate market of Dwarka in the capital, for instance, is bustling with many integrated townhips within it. The coming of the Metro gave a major impetus to this market. In fact, Dwarka as a whole can be considered a sub-city in itself with many plotted housings, commercial, institutional as well as retail areas.
But were these large-scale developments also impacted by recession blues? And does a market for them still exist in the present scenario? Raminder Grover, CEO, Homebay Residential, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, feels there is still a huge potential in this segment and it will get better as the economy opens up. "The recent downturn affected international funding into most segments of Indian real estate. However, affordable housing -- which is often a mandatory component of integrated townships -- continued to see funding. They are sub-cities where one can live, work, recreate and have access to health and education facilities. This provides a better standard of living and reduces the pressure on infrastructure in the parent city."
Harinder Dhillon, V-P, marketing, Raheja Developers, however, feels that the downturn did impact the development of these townships. "These require enormous resources and funds which dried up during the downturn but are now showing signs of a recovery. The market is gaining back in strength as public tastes have changed and people want the combined benefits of residence, play areas, schools, hospitals, shopping and entertainment areas all in close proximity and bound by a gated community."
Vijay Jindal, CMD of SVP Group, feels that integrated townships were also affected as they offer an amalgamation of affordable and luxury houses. "They were impacted as well with the slowdown. However, the market is now back and hence these townships will again thrive. The demand for these can never go off the road as they provide a best mix for all kinds of housing."
In fact, there are a number of townships coming up across locations. Jaypee Group is coming up with an integrated township of 2,500 acres called Jaypee Greens Sports City on Taj Expressway. Besides this, it has townships in Noida and Greater Noida spread over 1,100 acres and 469 acres respectively.
Raheja Developers is coming up with a 160-acre township at Sohna, 17 km from Gurgaon, comprising plotted, group housing, recreational, commercial and retail areas. The plotted developments in Sohna are priced at Rs 10,000 per sq yard.
Omaxe has townships planned in Bathinda, Patiala, Indore, Vrindavan and Allahabad. Similarly, Fire Capital has five large-sized integrated township projects planned in Indore, Bangalore, Nagpur, Chennai and Jaipur. Silver Springs Township at Indore offers units starting from Rs 13.5 lakh. Their Empyrean project in Bangalore is a low density, large integrated township with over 100 acre of open areas planned within the 210 acre township. Prices here start at Rs 35.5 lakh.
However, there are a number of things that one must keep in mind before investing in an integrated township. The title of the land and other regulatory issues need to be studied carefully. "Large integrated townships need to get approximately 30-50 regulatory approvals depending on the size and the location. It is very important that the developer has received all these approvals, failing which the customer will be unable to get deliveries of his residential units," adds Chaudhry of Fire Capital Fund.
Besides the title, one must look at the delivery credibility of the developer, the level of planning and detailing involved, the typology of units and the basic facilities and amenities being offered.
Grover of JLLM adds that people should be aware of some risks and limitations that pertain to these townships. "A home in an integrated township is generally on the expensive side, due to the infrastructure offered. Also, such townships have a long gestation period. This means that the promised facilities are invariably not available to those who buy into an early phase. They also have very specialised maintenance requirements and mostly tend to be located in distant fringe areas."
Overall, however, if the consumer is able to take these factors into consideration, integrated townships can offer the concept of convenience for residents. Better infrastructure, high security features, spacious environment and more room for green living makes them extremely viable as residential destinations. Moreover, with major facilities located in close proximity to each other, these can be a perfect answer to all your housing needs.
Source: Economic Times
You could call it a city within a city. It encompasses all aspects of modern day living within the development. Integrated township, as the name suggests, is a self-sustained township having a number of real estate developments, including residential, commercial, retail and institutional, as well as industrial areas in some cases.
There are many advantages of staying in such a township. These sustainable urban residential solutions give people a convenient and enjoyable living space in an ecofriendly environment. "Distance from the city allows its residents to stay away from traffic, pollution and congestion. Due to the nature of these large formats, the residents get more open and green spaces bringing them and their children in close proximity to nature," feels Om Chaudhry, CEO of Fire Capital Fund.
The real estate market of Dwarka in the capital, for instance, is bustling with many integrated townhips within it. The coming of the Metro gave a major impetus to this market. In fact, Dwarka as a whole can be considered a sub-city in itself with many plotted housings, commercial, institutional as well as retail areas.
But were these large-scale developments also impacted by recession blues? And does a market for them still exist in the present scenario? Raminder Grover, CEO, Homebay Residential, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, feels there is still a huge potential in this segment and it will get better as the economy opens up. "The recent downturn affected international funding into most segments of Indian real estate. However, affordable housing -- which is often a mandatory component of integrated townships -- continued to see funding. They are sub-cities where one can live, work, recreate and have access to health and education facilities. This provides a better standard of living and reduces the pressure on infrastructure in the parent city."
Harinder Dhillon, V-P, marketing, Raheja Developers, however, feels that the downturn did impact the development of these townships. "These require enormous resources and funds which dried up during the downturn but are now showing signs of a recovery. The market is gaining back in strength as public tastes have changed and people want the combined benefits of residence, play areas, schools, hospitals, shopping and entertainment areas all in close proximity and bound by a gated community."
Vijay Jindal, CMD of SVP Group, feels that integrated townships were also affected as they offer an amalgamation of affordable and luxury houses. "They were impacted as well with the slowdown. However, the market is now back and hence these townships will again thrive. The demand for these can never go off the road as they provide a best mix for all kinds of housing."
In fact, there are a number of townships coming up across locations. Jaypee Group is coming up with an integrated township of 2,500 acres called Jaypee Greens Sports City on Taj Expressway. Besides this, it has townships in Noida and Greater Noida spread over 1,100 acres and 469 acres respectively.
Raheja Developers is coming up with a 160-acre township at Sohna, 17 km from Gurgaon, comprising plotted, group housing, recreational, commercial and retail areas. The plotted developments in Sohna are priced at Rs 10,000 per sq yard.
Omaxe has townships planned in Bathinda, Patiala, Indore, Vrindavan and Allahabad. Similarly, Fire Capital has five large-sized integrated township projects planned in Indore, Bangalore, Nagpur, Chennai and Jaipur. Silver Springs Township at Indore offers units starting from Rs 13.5 lakh. Their Empyrean project in Bangalore is a low density, large integrated township with over 100 acre of open areas planned within the 210 acre township. Prices here start at Rs 35.5 lakh.
However, there are a number of things that one must keep in mind before investing in an integrated township. The title of the land and other regulatory issues need to be studied carefully. "Large integrated townships need to get approximately 30-50 regulatory approvals depending on the size and the location. It is very important that the developer has received all these approvals, failing which the customer will be unable to get deliveries of his residential units," adds Chaudhry of Fire Capital Fund.
Besides the title, one must look at the delivery credibility of the developer, the level of planning and detailing involved, the typology of units and the basic facilities and amenities being offered.
Grover of JLLM adds that people should be aware of some risks and limitations that pertain to these townships. "A home in an integrated township is generally on the expensive side, due to the infrastructure offered. Also, such townships have a long gestation period. This means that the promised facilities are invariably not available to those who buy into an early phase. They also have very specialised maintenance requirements and mostly tend to be located in distant fringe areas."
Overall, however, if the consumer is able to take these factors into consideration, integrated townships can offer the concept of convenience for residents. Better infrastructure, high security features, spacious environment and more room for green living makes them extremely viable as residential destinations. Moreover, with major facilities located in close proximity to each other, these can be a perfect answer to all your housing needs.
Source: Economic Times