It's raining offers this Gudi Padwa

With a history steeped in traditions, India always has had the good fortune of celebrating a clutch of festivals that showcased its rich diversity and cultural heritage. Traditionally festivals in India have marked the onset of a new harvest, prosperity or even a new year for some and have hence been considered an auspicious time to make major purchases or investments.

One such festival that is widely believed to be a very auspicious time to buy/invest in property is Gudi Padwa.  It announces the onset of Spring, after a cold harsh winter and coincides with many popular festivals like Baisakhi in Punjab, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Yugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Vishu in Kerala.

This year the festival assumes added significance coming as it does at the end of a prolonged period of political and economic uncertainty. A new majority government has taken charge and has unveiled a series of reform measures in the recent budget to put India back on the growth track. This was closely followed by an unexpected 25 bp cut in interest rates announced by the RBI, a move which is expected to have a positive impact on home loan rates.

Developers who have borne the brunt of this period of uncertainty are now hopeful that this change at the country’s helm of affairs will also spell a revival of sorts for the beleaguered real estate industry.

Taking advantage of this new wave of optimism and the fast approaching festival of Gudi Padwa, a favourite among property buyers since it also signifies new beginnings, developers with affordable housing projects and those targeting the price-conscious buyer are usually the first to launch a series of attractive ‘festival offers’ to woo buyers and investors.

Special offers this Gudi Padwa:
Taking the cue, the Rutu group has announced plans to transform this Gudi Padwa into a ‘Golden Padwa’ for home buyers.  The group will gift a 10gm gold coin to every buyer who purchases a flat at the company new project Riverview Classic @Kalyan (West), which offers spacious 1 & 2 BHK luxury homes.

The project also boasts of several modern amenities lie rainwater harvesting facility, sports academy, solar & wind power generation system, landscaped garden and a sewage treatment plant in addition to well-planned and developed infrastructure.
 
The Dedhai Group has launched a special 10:70:10:10 scheme, clubbed with a booking amount of just INR5lakhs and a home loan @7.98percent, as part of its festival celebrations this year. This special scheme is valid from March 17-22, 2015 for its upcoming El Canto project @Thane. This grand 28-storeyed tower located just off Ghodbunder road, features ultra-luxurious 2BHk homes with private sun decks and a pre-certified IGBC-Gold accreditation.
 
Going a step further the Cosmos Group is offering buyers the chance to buy a flat at any of its five projects @Thane namely Cosmos Horizon (3bhk), Cosmos Classique (2Bhk), Cosmos Jewels (1, 2&3Bhk), Cosmos Orchid (1&2Bhk) and 27GBR (2Bhk), while the company will provide the buyer with a assorted range of brand-new furniture and kitchen utilities absolutely free of cost.

These will include: sofa set 3+1+1, TV unit, bed, modular kitchen, water purifier, centre table, air-conditioner, side table, refrigerator, semi-automatic washing machine, 32”LED TV, wardrobe, dressing table and a microwave.

Norman Constructions is offering customers who buy a home this Gaudi Padua a special discount of INR91,000 and a modular kitchen (for the first 25 bookings) at their Aadi Aarambh project@Ambernath, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The under-construction project, located about 10-minutes from Ambernath station offers a choice between 1&2Bhk flats priced from INR 17-lakhs onwards. The project also features a temple, clubhouse, gymnasium, garden, children’s play area and a special bus service for its residents.
 
Nirvana Alive has also got into the act and announced a free 32”LEDTV for bookings made on or before this Gudi Padwa (March 21), at their ready possession project of the same name at Khopoli-Pali road. Located about 2 hours way from Mumbai, 15 minutes from Adlabs Imagica, Nirvana Alive features fully- furnished, fully- serviced apartments priced from INR 19.76-onwards.
Buyers at this project will get a fully furnished apartment equipped with stylish living and bedroom furniture & furnishings, appliances like a LED TV, microwave, fridge and air-conditioner, bathroom and electrical fixtures and fittings and a one-time home starter kit in addition to on-call cleaning & laundry services and a on-site restaurant too.

Buy for the right reasons:
Leading developers like Anil Pharande, CMD, Pharande Spaces concur that special offers to woo property buyers are likely to be plentiful this time round. According to him, its due to a combination of factors like the traditional mindset of buyers to buy property during this festival and the boost provided by several external feel-good factors like a stable government, positive economic outlook, RBI rate cuts and a reduced inflation which have all combined to improve buyer sentiments this year.

Agrees Gautam Ahuja, MD, Ahuja Construction, who feels the timing of the festival this year has been apt, more so in terms of the several favourable policy decisions initiated by both the state and central governments in the period leading upto it. According to him the assorted freebies being offered by developers this year, may well induce potential buyers who had deferred their decision to reconsider their purchase decisions.

However industry experts agree that potential buyers need to buy property for the right reasons and not because of the attractive offers and freebies on display. According to them the real estate market is not really different from any other kind of a market, wherein an attractive offer should make sense only if its attached to the right product.

In simple terms given the lakhs that are invested into buying a home, it makes sense for a buyer to conduct a thorough due diligence before deciding to go ahead with his decision to buy. While attractive festival offers are like the proverbial cherry on the cake, it’s the fundamentals – developer’s credentials, project location & amenities, pricing and overall value-for-money - that need to be carefully considered to safeguard your investment.

Its only when a project ticks all the right boxes mentioned above that the free 32”LED television being offered with the flat makes sense and can be enjoyed with a complete peace of mind.