On an upswing

Ravindra Sakla : Chairman & MD, Raviraj Group

Q. What is the real estate scenario in Pune? 

A. The market is picking up. Investors are investing in the market and there is an upward trend when it comes to deals. There was a slack period about six months back, but thankfully things are looking better now. Besides a change in the government, which has raised the market hopes, the change in policies by banks has been a huge motivator. In Pune, about 60- 70 percent of the buyers are the people working in the IT sectors in MIDC. They want to buy their own houses and obviously on bank loans.

Banks reducing the rate of interest has been a huge booster in their morale which is being seen on the sales.

Q. What are your expectations from the Union Budget? 

A. We are hoping for a reduction in taxes for sure. There are so many taxes like VAT, service tax, stamp duty, registration etc. For example if one buys a property for one crore, he will have to pay taxes to the tune of 11- 12 lakhs. This is a huge burden on the buyers. We are hoping that the Government considers this and bring some relief in the tax structure.

Q. Which of your projects are you looking forward to? 

A. We are soon launching a commercial project in Wakad and a premium residential project in Aundh. Also a project in Pimple Saudagar is a project where we are offering 2- 3 BHK flats. We are now busy with our ready to move in project at Dapoli which is adjacent to the natural lake on the Pune Nagpur road. It is close to Kharadi, Koregaon and other prime locations in Pune. We also have inventories at other places. Our amenities include tennis court, children’s park, butterfly gardens among others.