A housing complex with lots of open space and room for a workstation in the apartment — these were the two most sought after features at a real estate fair that started at South City Mall on Saturday.
In the pandemic riddled world, where many people are bound to home for longer than usual, the demand for a bigger and more spacious home seems to have surged.
A number of people enquired from the stalls put up by 12 of Kolkata’s most well known builders at the Gems Group presents Anandabazar Patrika and The Telegraph Real Estate Fair, Kolkata, 2022.
The Saturday-Sunday fair is being held in association with Alcove Realty and Camellia Group.
“Buyers have started to value open spaces. Buyers are ready to invest in buying a good home that has a good amount of open space where they can take a breath of fresh air,” said Aakriti Shroff, the branding and communications director at Alcove Realty.
Shroff said with people cooped up inside their homes for very long periods and not being able to step out they were now looking for homes that had an open ground where they could breathe fresh air at the day’s end, take their children and family out without having to
mingle with too many unknown people.
More time at home also means the demand for separate spaces for the members of the family. The adults have their professional commitments while the children might have online classes.
“No one knows when we might have another pandemic and we will be forced to stay indoors. Also most private companies are still continuing work from home or in hybrid mode,” said a visitor to the fair. The builders have accordingly designed the properties.
Gems Group, which is building 600 bungalows in a 50-acre plot in Joka, has also stressed on open spaces. “You can realise how much open space we are giving because there are only 600 bungalows across a 50-acre plot in Gems Bougainvillas,” said Lalit Bhutoria, the managing director of Gems Group.
Alcove New Kolkata Sangam in Serampore and Camellia Group’s Saptaparni in Santiniketan also stress on giving people the experience of open spaces.
Nilanjan Basu, a senior official of Camellia Saptaparni, a property with 500 bungalows in Santiniketan, said its villas would be made according to the demands of buyers. “They can either choose a very spacious living room where a workstation can be accommodated or create a separate study by carving out space from other rooms,” said Basu.
The demand for private terraces and lawns have grown.
Bhutoria said their property in Joka would also have a business centre where people could organise an office meeting or just do a day’s office-work from the centre.
“Work from home has raised the need for more space. People can use the business centre for office-work,” he added.
Among the buyers, another requirement was more washrooms. Poulami Dey, who works with a medical instruments company, was looking for a 3BHK flat. Before the pandemic hit, she had enquired for 3BHK flats with two washrooms. “I did not purchase anything then. But now I want three washrooms. The need for more washrooms was very much felt during the pandemic,” she said.
The fair is open between noon and 8pm.
SBI Home Loans is the banking partner for the fair. Buyers can initiate discussions on loans with SBI officials present on the spot.
“Work from home has raised the need for more space.
People can use the business centre for office-work also,” Bhutoria said.
Among the buyers, another requirement was more washrooms. Poulami Dey, who works with a medical instruments company, was looking for a 3BHK flat. Before the pandemic hit, she had enquired for 3BHK flats with two washrooms.
“But now I want three washrooms. The need for more washrooms was very much felt during the pandemic,” she said.
The fair is open between noon and 8pm.
SBI Home Loans is the banking partner for the fair. Buyers can initiate discussions on loans with SBI officials present on the spot.