Table of Contents
A massive Lifestyle Change:
Since the early 2000s gated communities have seen a remarkable rise in Indian Real Estate. The trend for communities with private living, high security, and advanced amenities has been on a steep rise owing to the rising demand. Growing demands are also a boon from the Information Technology boom in India. The variant living patterns have progressed from individual apartments to cluster living. Visible changes in the type of dwellings result from the dire need for safety while the working family member is on travel leaving family back at home. Going further we can notice how Individual Houses have gradually grown into Cluster Living with the advent of the IT sector and now trending towards Integrated Community Townships!
The Change right here, right now:
Real Estate Developers have been primarily focusing on the development of land area a bit away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Owing to traffic, congestion, and absence of green areas for beautiful landscaping, developers are planning to revamp the outskirts of metropolitan or Tier 2 cities. The real question is why would Real Estate Developers take on huge investments in developing the outskirts of a city? The answer is quite simple – End Users & Investors equally favor Gated communities and Integrated Townships mainly because of amenities, safety, lifestyle status, restricted access and resultant privacy rather than location.
Home buyers consider a unit in a Gated Community as a long term investment compared to non-gated units. Investors have a premium on rentals if part of an integrated township owing to the luxuries provided like swimming pools, private gymnasium, beautiful landscape, and the top class on-going maintenance. The brand and reputation are of importance to the developer, hence ensuring the communities are built as well as maintained satisfactorily. The growing concerns relating to Global Warming, Settlement Shifts, Climate Change have also increased the foreign investment for Indian Real Estate projects.
Taking the Trend International:
Affluent expats from the Middle East, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Foreign Nationals (FNs) see potential in investing in Indian Real Estate due to the security and luxury. Having lived the high-end life abroad, they wish for retirement homes which are spacious, have amenities like pools, badminton court, and shopping facilities within the community. A luxurious lifestyle is only possible in integrated townships and gated communities.
The paradigm shift:
Gated communities are now a common sight in Indian real estate markets. The emerging trend in community living due to the high demand for secured and luxurious homes are Integrated Townships. Prestige Shantiniketan, Brigade Orchards (using ADDA), Bhartiya City Nikoo Homes are the most successful integrated townships from south India. Integrated Townships fly in a lot of investments by NRIs and FNs as well. They reduce the pressure of existing city infrastructure, guaranteeing top-class facilities within the premises, most importantly water supply, electricity, and power backup amenities.
An Integrated Township is a self-sustained development with all the basic modern amenities developed in an area of more than 20 acres on outskirts. There are a number of developments that include residential, commercial, recreational and even educational within the community. Green and open spaces along with wholesome living without much pollution is the main focus of an integrated community. Dynamically evolving ideas for a sustainable living starting from segregating waste to green modes of travel within the community is given importance. For example, The Sustainable City, Dubai (using ADDA since 2 years) has built a natural ‘biodome’ greenhouses, organic farms and individual garden farms for local food production all within the community using a sustainable sewage water treatment!
What lies ahead:
The management of the advanced community living is the next crucial step for any gated community or township. Even though the developers have built up the area with high-end technology and amenities, maintenance of all the infrastructure through the years to come is essential. The question is who will manage the property? How to accommodate the opinions of the Home Owners Association members? Multiple forums have come together to voice the concerns of community management. Management Committee of the various communities, as well as Property Management firms, have felt the need to adopt a Software tool – ADDA to manage their budget, collection, security & work orders.
Community Management certifications by Community Associations Institute (CAI) serves community associations and homeowners by providing guidance/ courses for property managers, facility managers, homeowners association etc. CAI provides the most comprehensive, expert education courses for community managers seeking to increase their skills, knowledge and job opportunities. CAI is an international membership organization dedicated to building better communities with 64 chapters worldwide and 40000 members!
And THAT’S RIGHT!
For the first time ever in India, under the patronage of CAI and Consejo General de Colegios de Administradores de Fincas – The Indian edition of the International Real Estate Community Management Summit (IRECMS) will be held in Mumbai! It will be A ground-breaking conference that will drive conversations and dialogues among real estate thought-leaders on the concept of ‘community management’.
ADDA is the presenting sponsor for IRECMS and the conference will act as a forum for Indian thought-leaders to meet and network with the international gurus of this industry with a view to encourage, develop and provide a world-class education for housing society, community association and property managers.
Stay Tuned!
