Central Park: Ultra-luxury realty brand

Demand for luxury homes from the NRI community continues to be on an upswing

Central Park is one of the fastest growing ultra-luxury realty brands with an established presence in the National Capital Region. It has delivered 5.5 million square feet across luxury residential property in some of the most prime locations in Gurgaon.
Excerpts from an interview with Amarjit Bakshi, Managing Director, Central Park:
What are your views on the prospects for the real estate sector in India, especially in markets where you have a strong presence?
The real estate sector in India has been plagued by archaic laws, inconsistent practices and cluttered regulatory framework. With the introduction of The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), the sector will go through an image overhaul and usher in a positive direction altogether.
RERA is expected to set in motion key reforms that will bring greater clarity and fair business practices in order to protect home buyers' interests. RERA will be instrumental in overhauling the image of real estate sector and reinvigorate the market sentiment by addressing key issues such as project delays, price, quality of construction title and other changes.
Has the demonetisation of the rupee impacted the industry? If so, when do you hope demand to revive?
The impact of demonetisation on the real estate sector was felt in the first few months as it resulted in slow absorption of properties, marginal transactions in the market and buyers going into wait and watch mode on prices before making the purchase decision. However, RERA and GST are expected to give a fillip to the housing demand in the country over a period of few months from now.
What are your views on GST and RERA?
GST is a revolutionary step taken by the government to simplify taxation and will augur well for the real estate industry. The removal of multiple taxes and introduction of a fixed tax rate of 12 per cent will bring more transparency in the cost of construction projects.
Overall, the simplified tax structure along with RERA will be instrumental in instilling consumer confidence and boosting demand in the sector.
RERA is a progressive reform introduced by the government towards bringing more clarity and fair practices to protect the interests of buyers. There is lot of freedom given by the Central Government under RERA as each state needs to have its own regulator and define the set of rules to govern functioning of the regulator.
What are the major projects that you have on hand in various cities across India?
At present we are focusing on two projects only in Gurgaon in the National Capital Region. One offers ready-to-move options and the other is under development. Central Park Resorts offer ready to move in options like Beau Villa, which are villa style apartments at the ground floor; Belgravia-Resort residences and the penthouses Sky Villa, which are mansions in the sky.
Central Park Resorts offers 360-degree living and all the services so that the only thing you need to go out of the premises is for your office.
The new concept on the horizon is the Central Park Flower Valley, which is a Global Premium Township replete with myriad choices of homes, world-class physical, spiritual and social amenities and to top it all, a main road location in the south of Gurgaon, just minutes away from Golf Course Extension Road and other landmark destinations.
Central Park Flower Valley has world class academies for golf, cricket, lawn tennis, badminton, boxing, swimming, fitness, yoga, acting and dance manned by experts. Currently, there are six amenities which can be experienced by the customers even before they move-in, at Flower Valley - Al Capone Multi-cuisine restaurant, Flora Fountain, Foot Spa, Kid's Amusement Area, Golf putting and Juice Bar.
Do you see growing NRI interest in the Indian real estate sector?
The demand for luxury homes from the NRI community continues to be on an upswing even in the face of market headwinds as these discerning, affluent buyers continue to seek for nothing but the best.
Gurgaon has always been the favoured destination for the luxury residential segment. At Central Park, we have options that match their expectations and that too ready-to-move-in.
For consumers who desire a luxury personified address here, Sky Villas are Central Park's most premium assets till date which only a handful and privileged can enjoy. These magnificent penthouses are aptly called Sky Villas, as they are one-of-a-kind apartments promising luxury which rightfully celebrates the success of the owner.
Central Park offers different assets depending upon the individual requirements from Fully Service Residence to Luxurious apartment, Plots to Premium Floors to Fully Built up Villas and Beau Villas (Ground floor Villa Style apartments) to Sky Villa (Penthouses).
Will prices move up in 2017/18, or will they remain stable?
The real estate sector in India is currently going through an upheaval due to the implementation of RERA and GST. Since there were no provisions as such until now, the sector is bound to expect initial hiccups but soon the dust will settle down for all the stakeholders. The impact of prices due to RERA and GST needs to be seen as too little time has passed for the assessment to be made, post implementation of these regulations.

• India