In India, it is a real estate maxim that people on the lookout for homes will always seek out localities that are close to their places of work. Consequently, residential projects with good connectivity — specifically road and rail infrastructure — witness the maximum sales. From good roads to proper drainage and water supply, infrastructure consists of all the man-made physical attributes that help develop a sustainable community. It is therefore not surprising that property prices close to roads, railway stations and airports are significantly higher than in other areas. People are ready to pay for the privilege of living close to these conveniences, as it saves them both commuting time and expenses.
Infrastructure also includes availability of electricity, water supply and sanitation such as public and in-project waste disposal and sewerage. If a location does not have these essential facilities, it will not work as a residential destination. From a real estate market perspective, it should be noted that infrastructure means a lot more than just physical infrastructure such as road connectivity.
Social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, shopping malls, post offices and other essential government services, and facilities of leisure activity such as sports complexes, swimming pools, parks and gardens are important too.
Road connectivity
Roads, including in-facility roads in residential townships and lines of connectivity to the city centre and workplace hubs, define the quality of a residential neighbourhood. Effective roadways make transportation easier and faster. That said, there definitely needs to be the right kind of balance when it comes to roads and their ability to drive sales — people do not want to live too close to hospitals, bus depots or industries, but neither will they want to be far away from them.
Water and electricity supply
India is a developing nation, and ‘developing’ is both a positive qualifier and a watchword for caution for home buyers. There are several towns and suburbs that are not yet well integrated with proper water and electricity supply. With the average income of Indians increasing, potential homeowners are willing to spend more to get access to round-the-clock water and electricity supply. These two are central to the smooth running of every modern household and commercial space.
Needless to say, residential complexes that guarantee 24x7 electricity and water supply are much more preferred than projects and areas that have erratic supplies. Projects that do not have steady water and electricity supply sell only to budget-strung buyers who are willing to wait for these services to arrive at some point. As many news stories and consumer forums tell us, they often have to wait for years together, and meanwhile their home investments erode steadily.
Sewerage and sanitation
Even average residential facilities need to be equipped with proper sanitation, including sewage and waste water disposal, garbage removal, municipal road cleaning, and other associated services. Without these, life becomes intolerable and extremely unhealthy. Naturally, every home buyer will take a close look at this aspect before deciding on a purchase.
Schools and hospitals
More than 70 per cent of Indian families have school-going children. One of the biggest questions in the mind of every family scanning the local market for a suitable home is — how far are they willing to send their child to get to school and back each day? School-related commuting can take an incredible toll on the health and academic success of children, so parents are extremely focussed on buying homes that are close to good schools. This does not just allow quicker access to education, but also ensures maximum safety for kids.
Hospitals are another element in a location’s infrastructure that is a pivotal consideration for every home buyer. Medical emergencies cannot be ruled out in today’s fast-paced urban life, and medical care is an inalienable factor for people of all ages. For this reason, home buyers want fast access to hospitals and related medical facilities.
Parks and gardens
Thanks to the reckless proliferation of the urban concrete jungle, there is now an ongoing crisis for open spaces and green zones in residential areas of almost every modern city. Parks and other recreational locations are the only options for city dwellers that seek the occasional break from urban chaos and want to experience nature, at least to some extent. As a result, home buyers are ready to pay more if they can move to a locality that are close to parks, lakes and recreational facilities. For this reason, many modern apartment complexes are now including artificial lakes and gardens inside their compounds. And all this can be effectively encapsulated in one word — infrastructure. Infrastructure guides the buying behaviour, and is therefore central to every kind of residential development. Its availability or lack will unerringly decide the success rate of a residential destination and the projects in it.
It is for this reason that integrated townships have become the latest rage in the Indian real estate domain. Large townships provide all the above-mentioned infrastructure aspects as part of their integrated development plan. They do not depend on how fast the areas they are built in develop on the infrastructure front — they ensure that residents have it all available within easy reach, for immediate use. Naturally, homes in integrated townships also carry a consummate premium on their prices; the fact that they still sell extremely well is testimony to the fact that today’s home buyers are not willing to live without the benefits of complete infrastructure.
The writer is managing director, Pride Group
