Property exhibitions are one of the most popular and often used property marketing platforms in Indian residential real estate. Almost all cities in India have their yearly share of regular property exhibitions – booming markets like Pune, Navi Mumbai and Thane have as many as four or five a year.
Property exhibitions serve a valid purpose – in the first place, they give developers the opportunity to display and create awareness about their projects. Since India is a country where every denizen of the middle class who does not yet own a home is on the market for a residential property, the turnout at property exhibitions tends to be fairly large. This allows developers to connect directly with potential customers. For this reason, property exhibitions tend to be by far the most effective marketing mechanism.
Of course, prospective property buyers at these exhibitions are also benefited by the fact that they get a good overview of the available options in their budgets and locations of choice. They can visit the sites of the projects they are interested in right away, or schedule a viewing in the near future. Also, since property exhibitions also have banks and financial institutions specializing in home loans in attendance, visitors who make a firm purchase decision can avail of their services on the spot. Finally, many developers also offer add-on incentives at such exhibitions.
At times – though this is definitely not a given – one can get a fairly decent bargain, since the presence of many competing developers for the same buyer segment can give rise to a favourable situation for bargaining. However, this is variable that depends on the prevailing market dynamics and also the skills of the buyer at identifying and acting on such a situation.
Despite all the positives of such exhibitions, prospective property buyer should not attend them without knowing what to expect – and what not to expect. What they can expect is to see a lot of showcased residential projects, along with their facillities, amenities and pricing. What they cannot expect is a seamless viewpoint of every project that is within their means and personal requirements. This is because not all developers active in a certain city or location participate in property exhibitions.
For this reason, serious intending home buyers should not think of property exhibitions as a one-stop solution for their search for a dream home. They should take the additional guidance of an experienced property broker to get a better perspective of the market. Noting the contact numbers of marketing personnel on hoardings and in newspaper advertisements featuring projects that are of interest is another ingredient of a holistic search for the right property.
If a prospective buyer does find the ideal match at a property exhibition, accepting an invitation for a site visit is definitely in order. A number of home seekers do find what they want at property exhibitions, and have no reason to look back. At the same time, there is no shortage of those who bought a home at a property exhibition on impulse and regretted it because they learned of much better options later on.
Even if a buyer finds what he or she is looking for at the exhibition, it is prudent to ask for all the documents related to a registered and approved residential project. For a project which is still under construction, these include the commencement certificate and the IOD (Intimation Of Disapproval). This is a set of documents which attest to the fact that the developer has complied with all the procedures that presage a legal thumbs-up for the project. For a ready-to-move-in project, the documents to be verified are the approved drawings of the project, a copy of the IOD, the completion certificate and a clear land title.