Affordable Housing: A Marketing Gimmick?

Bangalore: Real estate prices are soaring high across all metro cities of the country. In today’s date, luxury housing, ultra-luxury housing, villas and villaments are the new buzzwords among both developers and potential home buyers. But, with the increase in property prices, end users are seeking affordable housing to afford the cost. Considering this, several developers including the prominent ones tried their hands on affordable housing. Even some developers have managed to sell such affordable homes in down market to increase their sales.

According to experts, whenever the economy witnesses decline, developers think of affordable housing to play safe in the sluggish market, reports Mansi Taneja & Nivedita Mookerji of Business Standard.

Although, low cost housing and affordable housing are used interchangeably in the country, these two have different meaning. "Low-cost housing is generally meant for the economically weaker section and comprises bare minimum housing facilities, while affordable housing is mostly meant for the lower- and middle-income group and includes basic amenities like schools, hospitals and other community facilities and services," according to a recent study conducted by KPMG-CREDAI.

When it comes to affordable housing, developers have their own set of price trends. For instance, Wave group’s project Wave City has included 1-bedroom and 2-bedrrom apartments in the price range of 14 lakh to 18 lakh, Jaypee group has come up with an affordable project in Greater Noida in the price range of 26.5 lakh to 58.4 lakh and then Tata Housing’s Smart Value Homes offers affordable housing in the price range of 5 lakh to 35 lakh.

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