Realtors bide time for major turnaround in sales
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Mehdi Musharraf Bhuiyan
Realtors are expecting a major turnaround in sales in the coming months following two years of 'apparent slump' as they are vying to win back 'customer confidence' at the ongoing REHAB Fair in the city.
The summer fair, organised for the first time at this time of the year, was supposed to be an attempt on the part of the real estate sector for a change in the fortune after they had reported a 30 percent drop in sales during the first quarter of the year.
The realtors have mostly blamed this slump on the sluggishness in sales during the two years' reign of the immediate past caretaker government, which they say, culminated in a major drop in sales during the early part of the year.
"People during the two-years period was shy of spending any huge amount because of the government policies, which ultimately reduced the buyers' investment in this sector by around 30 to 40 per cent," said S M Jahidul Islam, Managing Director of Unitech.
"The scenario has only been worsened by the ongoing global recession, which has also kept the potential expatriate Bangladeshi customers at bay," said Sadat Hossain Salim, Managing Director of Rupayan Housing Estate Limited.
"In the backdrop of such circumstances, such fair was a timely wake-up call to win back customers' confidence," he added.
The summer fair also is coinciding with the upcoming annual budget, which, the developers are hoping would also allow the undisclosed money to be invested in the real estate sector.
"Such a move in the upcoming budget could be a real boon for the real estate as a buyer's investment in this sector could bump up on such a government measure," General Manager of Amin Mohammad Foundation AYM Mosaddeque Hossain said.
"In the current trend, we can expect a boom in the real estate sector by July, driven by the renewed interest of the customers in purchasing flat or apartment and necessary government measure" said a realtor.
The familiar uneven gap between prices in the real estate sector has only widened; with all major developers maintaining a huge disparity in price levels of various ongoing and upcoming projects according to their demand and location.
Whereas the price of an Eastern Housing apartment at Baridhara of the city could be as high as Tk. 18,000.00 per square feet; the same developers are offering apartments at Bashabo where their rate is as low as Tk. 3,600.00 per square feet.
Apart from a few exceptions; majority of the developers have strived to keep their price level steady since the last REHAB Fair, thanks to huge discounts offered and relative stability in the prices of the construction materials.
However, those who have not rode that train have raised their prices by 10 to 15 per cent from last time, blaming the increase on growing scarcity of land area which they say has resulted in the soaring prices of land in the city.
The recent decade in the country's real estate sector has been characterised by a major boost in sales accompanied by a great uplift in prices of landed property; with a patch of land or a dwelling place in any of the major residential areas of the capital city being regarded as the most coveted possession by the rising middle class.
Realtors are expecting a major turnaround in sales in the coming months following two years of 'apparent slump' as they are vying to win back 'customer confidence' at the ongoing REHAB Fair in the city.
The summer fair, organised for the first time at this time of the year, was supposed to be an attempt on the part of the real estate sector for a change in the fortune after they had reported a 30 percent drop in sales during the first quarter of the year.
The realtors have mostly blamed this slump on the sluggishness in sales during the two years' reign of the immediate past caretaker government, which they say, culminated in a major drop in sales during the early part of the year.
"People during the two-years period was shy of spending any huge amount because of the government policies, which ultimately reduced the buyers' investment in this sector by around 30 to 40 per cent," said S M Jahidul Islam, Managing Director of Unitech.
"The scenario has only been worsened by the ongoing global recession, which has also kept the potential expatriate Bangladeshi customers at bay," said Sadat Hossain Salim, Managing Director of Rupayan Housing Estate Limited.
"In the backdrop of such circumstances, such fair was a timely wake-up call to win back customers' confidence," he added.
The summer fair also is coinciding with the upcoming annual budget, which, the developers are hoping would also allow the undisclosed money to be invested in the real estate sector.
"Such a move in the upcoming budget could be a real boon for the real estate as a buyer's investment in this sector could bump up on such a government measure," General Manager of Amin Mohammad Foundation AYM Mosaddeque Hossain said.
"In the current trend, we can expect a boom in the real estate sector by July, driven by the renewed interest of the customers in purchasing flat or apartment and necessary government measure" said a realtor.
The familiar uneven gap between prices in the real estate sector has only widened; with all major developers maintaining a huge disparity in price levels of various ongoing and upcoming projects according to their demand and location.
Whereas the price of an Eastern Housing apartment at Baridhara of the city could be as high as Tk. 18,000.00 per square feet; the same developers are offering apartments at Bashabo where their rate is as low as Tk. 3,600.00 per square feet.
Apart from a few exceptions; majority of the developers have strived to keep their price level steady since the last REHAB Fair, thanks to huge discounts offered and relative stability in the prices of the construction materials.
However, those who have not rode that train have raised their prices by 10 to 15 per cent from last time, blaming the increase on growing scarcity of land area which they say has resulted in the soaring prices of land in the city.
The recent decade in the country's real estate sector has been characterised by a major boost in sales accompanied by a great uplift in prices of landed property; with a patch of land or a dwelling place in any of the major residential areas of the capital city being regarded as the most coveted possession by the rising middle class.