Targeting sales of flats and plots to middle income groups
Monday, 19 November 2007
THIS year, the REHAB is holding its fair in the city under very depressed market conditions. The real estate developers face a drastic fall in the demand for flats and plots. If the demand situation does not improve sooner than later, the whole sector is likely to witness a crunch. So, the developers would very much like to see an increase in their sales volume. They have been passing through a frustrating situation for a variety of factors, particularly after the drive against corruption by the present government. The prices of almost all construction materials have also increased significantly. A recent survey shows that the sales of apartments dropped to almost 50 per cent this year.
So, survival is now a matter of concern for almost all -- small to big -- market players. The REHAB (Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh) is expected to give focus on ways and means for increasing sales of apartments and plots with the aim to help overcome this frustrating situation.
One way of doing this is to paying more attention to lowering the price of their products -- flats and plots -- rather than to earning more profits. The developers are, no doubt, facing constraints here because prices of most construction items have gone up. Land price has also phenomenally gone up, though the registered value of transfer deeds in most cases are not even one third of the actual prices. In this situation, the developers do need to carefully examine the ways for cutting down the costs of their products and targeting the sales thereof, at affordable means, to the middle income-class people. The government should also provide effective policy supports to developers in this connection.
The middle-class buyers should be facilitated in all possible ways to fulfill their dream to buy an apartment or a small plot of land with their normal earnings plus institutional credits at affordable rates of interest.
Zahid Hyder
Gopibagh
Dhaka
So, survival is now a matter of concern for almost all -- small to big -- market players. The REHAB (Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh) is expected to give focus on ways and means for increasing sales of apartments and plots with the aim to help overcome this frustrating situation.
One way of doing this is to paying more attention to lowering the price of their products -- flats and plots -- rather than to earning more profits. The developers are, no doubt, facing constraints here because prices of most construction items have gone up. Land price has also phenomenally gone up, though the registered value of transfer deeds in most cases are not even one third of the actual prices. In this situation, the developers do need to carefully examine the ways for cutting down the costs of their products and targeting the sales thereof, at affordable means, to the middle income-class people. The government should also provide effective policy supports to developers in this connection.
The middle-class buyers should be facilitated in all possible ways to fulfill their dream to buy an apartment or a small plot of land with their normal earnings plus institutional credits at affordable rates of interest.
Zahid Hyder
Gopibagh
Dhaka