CHENNAI: Chennai developers could take pride that they are better than developers in other cities in completing the residential projects. According to a study by Anarock property consultants, one of the leading real estate services companies, the completion of a residential project in Chennai takes around 4.1 years which is way ahead of Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune.
Anarock research reveals that out of the total new housing unit launches in each top city between 2013 till third quarter of 2020, Chennai has the highest share of ready or completed homes at 61 per cent of its total inventory, followed by Bengaluru with 48 per cent and Hyderabad at 44 per cent.
The report states that Chennai saw new launches of over 1.32 lakh units between 2013 and third quarter of 2020, of which 61 percent is already completed. In stark contrast, the National Capital Region saw over 5.54 lakh units of new supply launched in this period, of which just 26% percent units were completed.
It is learnt that 23 lakh units were launched between 2013 and third quarter of 2020 across the top seven cities, of which 34pc (approx. 7.92 lakh units) is completed. Another 19pc is scheduled to complete within the next 12 months, and another 19pc between one to two years.
Reacting to the study, S Sridharan, CREDAI chairman, Tamil Nadu Chapter, told The New Indian Express that Chennai is way ahead of other cities in compliance. "Developers in the state will now be working towards completing the housing projects way ahead of schedule post pandemic," he says.
Siva Krishnan, managing director, Residential Services, JLL, a global real estate services firm specialising in commercial property and investment management, said that typically in Chennai a multi-storied building timespan is 30 to 36 months and these could be delayed due to calamities like floods or other natural factors. "In Chennai's case the delay is maximum six to eight months when compared to other cities," says Siva.
He said this also is due to the fact that most of the projects in the city caters to stilt plus seven floors or 10 to 12 storeys when compared to projects in Mumbai and Delhi.
Interestingly, Siva is optimistic of the real estate sector picking up. As the ready to move properties deman is picking up, it will soon result in the prices of these properties going up as launches in the city have been low. This could slowly result in demand for under-construction projects, he added.
Builders Association of India state treasurer S Ramaprabhu told Express that Chennai's real estate sector could do much better than other cities in the coming days. "Due to the recently passed Common Building Rules, the compliance has been high and we expect timelines to be much better after Covid-19," he said. He also said that the real estate sector in Chennai is picking up. "We will be having more registrations of properties after October 17 when the Puratasi month comes to an end. Currently, the demand is picking up," said Ramaprabhu.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that developers are struggling to finish the work despite pandemic.
"The cement prices have gone up and there is delay in obtaining tiles as the factories have just opened up," said Sridharan. It is learnt that the developers have been raising the issue of increase in prices of cement with the state government.