SCALING NEW HEIGHTS

UNTIL NOT TOO LONG AGO, the real estate sector and, more specifically, residential real estate had dug itself into a deep hole.

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It was hobbled by rising raw material prices, huge unsold inventories and lack of demand on one hand and unfinished projects, inordinate delays in delivery, homebuyer protests and a crisis of credibility on the other. The rot was most evident in the northern parts of the country, and sullied the reputation of almost all the big developers in the region.

In sharp contrast, many of the Bengaluru-based developers have built a reputation for themselves over the years as trustworthy builders. A name that stands out is Puravankara. It has been in the housing business for 47 years with presence across all major southern cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore, Mangaluru as well Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Goa. To its credit, the company has delivered 77 projects amounting to over 43 million sq ft. But all that is history.

Going forward, the developer has drawn up aggressive expansion plans. Currently, the builder has nearly 25 million sq ft of projects under different stages of construction. Then, it has a launch pipeline of over 16 million sq ft across residential, commercial, and plotted projects, among others. Besides, it has pumped in more than Rs 400 crore in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. And its wholly-owned subsidiary, Provident Housing is pushing affordable homes for first-time homebuyers.

The group is buoyant after a fruitful financial year. For FY22, the company’s total sales stood at Rs 2,407 crore, its highest ever. It sold a total of 3.52 million sq ft during the fiscal and managed to reduce its debt by Rs 453 crore while bringing down the borrowing cost by 139 basis points during the fiscal year.

Turning Point