The property meltdown had a profound effect on the Indian real estate landscape, and it is safe to say that everyone got burned to some degree or the other. Developers suffered the most, but professional real estate establishments were definitely no exception. Getting ready for revival and after some pretty severe market setbacks, the sector looks back and sees a landscape defined by both casualties and survivors.

What proved the undoing of the casualties was an inability to reinvent themselves. Those who did not have the advantage of diversified service offerings beyond selling and leasing were hard hit by the severe lack of demand for leasing and selling services. Different strategies and adaptability helped the international property consultancies (IPCs) to recover revenues to a significant extent. In the worst phase of the slowdown, overall demand for leasing and selling had ground almost to a complete standstill. However, the Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj saw a corresponding increase in the demand for research, portfolio management and project and facilities management. When the full impact of negative market dynamics became apparent, clients sought real estate professionals who view their assets from a strategic rather than a transaction perspective. The accent was on finding service providers that had the acumen and orientation to help their clients grow their real estate investments even in troubled times.

WITHSTANDING THE FALLOUT

The effect of the slowdown was most visible in the residential segment, since it represents a very economy-sensitive patronage. Over the last two months, we have seen transactions picking up by 15-25 per cent, depending on location and typology, but those service providers who depended solely on traditional residential deals reached or came close to the breaking point when demand sank to its lowest levels a few months ago. There was also a decisive impact on deals pertaining to retail and office spaces, the latter category predominantly in IT/ITES and MNCs. However, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj was among those IPCs that successfully leveraged and built on the increase in the niche demand by domestic companies. We noted that the number of domestic transactions actually increased, though the value of these transactions certainly decreased. Nevertheless, this niche demand sufficed to help the most evolved IPCs safe from the worst of the downturn.

... contd.