Mayur Shah, Chairman, Marathon Group talks about Real Estate Market outlook 2022 and thoughts on receiving the 2021 Singapore Estrade Real Estate Awards as Developer of the Year(West)
List a few things that stood out for you during 2021? Business, Personal or life-changing?
2021 was a year with both highs and lows, but one where we learned, grew, and are coming out of in a much stronger position than ever. We closed 2020 and started 2021 with a bang, clocking record sales month on month due to pent-up demand, the right product mix, and government incentives.
So, the second lockdown came as a minor shock to the ecosystem, although this time we were much better prepared due to our learnings from the first lockdown, and were able to continue construction, sales, and operations with lesser disruption. Overall, 2021 was a great year for Marathon and the real estate industry in general in terms of sales, registration, construction, and other milestones.
Few words on winning the 2021 Estrade Real Estate Awards – Digital Edition?
It gives us great joy to see our work and our efforts being recognised in the industry and culminating with being awarded the prestigious developer of the year (West) 2021 by Estrade. It further strengthens our conviction to place our customers first and remain a design and execution focused company – the sales and recognition then becomes simply a by-product of the work that has gone on behind the scenes.
Your views on Market Outlook in 2022?
- We sold over 1250+ units across projects – an annual record for us. We also registered over 1050 homes, again an annual record.
- Over 15000 families visited our projects.
- With Marathon NeoHomes, our affordable housing series in Bhandup, we reached a landmark of 1000+ homes sold since inception. Bhandup will continue to be our focus market for years to come and demand for affordable housing is sure to be robust going forward.
One thing you are looking forward to in 2022?
In 2022 we can look forward to a year that I hope is more like 2019, before the pandemic hit and we can enjoy meeting our friends, families, and co-workers more frequently. We can look forward to the strong economic recovery after the pandemic continuing and for the real estate industry to reach new heights
As they say, the longer you stay on the wicket the more runs you score. Any words of wisdom for budding entrepreneurs and job-seekers in 2022?
My advice to job-seekers and entrepreneurs is to always start and project or endeavor by asking ‘why’ – why you are doing what you are doing.
For instance, at Marathon, our ‘why’ is to delight our customers, with that simple principle in mind we then can answer the ‘what’ – the product, and the ‘how’ – the process. With the world becoming increasingly complex, it always helps to remain grounded with basic principles and align everything else you do to those.
Any expert advice on the economic revival OR expectation for 2022?
More launches can be expected
The end of 2020 saw a rapid growth in sales numbers due to the pent-up demand of the first lockdown. In 2021, after the end of the stamp duty reduction and other government sops, developers adopted a wait and watch approach, with more focus on project completion and existing inventory.
Coupled with aggressive pricing, fewer launches resulted in inventory overhang reduce significantly in the city. In 2022, we can expect the number of launches to increase significantly
Luxury residential sales can expect a boost
- 67% of India’s rich will buy a luxury property in the next 2 years – TOI
- More HNIs are looking to buy luxury property in 2022 – ET
- Demand for luxury real estate bullish despite COVID – ET
Affordable housing will continue to grow rapidly
It’s no secret that affordable housing in Mumbai is the most in-demand and the least served segment. With developers now scrambling to reduce ticket sizes and cater to this segment, expect a lot more traction in the affordable housing segment.
For instance Marathon Realty has forayed into large scale slum rehabilitation in the last 2 years in Bhandup and expects to continue it’s strong momentum
Commercial should see a steady recovery
Notwithstanding further waves of COVID, commercial real estate can expect to continue its steady recovery, with rental rates and transaction velocity already increase in the market. Demand for offices closer to residential hubs should see an uptick while leasing at larger commercial complexes should see a recovery.
Technology adoption in real estate will mature
A lot of developers moved quickly to deploy technology like virtual tours, online sales processes, VR and AR technology, chatbots to aid the sales process during the pandemic. After a year of learning how to best use these technologies, customers can now expect a more seamless and immersive sales process, especially at larger developers.
For more information kindly visit: https://marathon.in/
This interview was authored by Vishwasjeet Singh, Editor-in-Chief, Estrade Business News. To share more stories kindly email: vishwasjeet@estrade.in
