[vinu_h]

Looking for ideas to enhance property(monetary) value. Resale values have been flat.

Background - Apartment complex (165 apartments) I live in is 5 yrs old. Gym, pool, club house, meditation room, adequate parking, DG, security, well kept etc. This is a one hit wonder, not your well known Prestige, Brigade or Sobha. We have OC and all the necessary certificates from Fire, BWSSB & KSPCB. Despite moderate commercial presence(essentials - Gyms, hospitals, parlors, veggies etc) sprouting in & around us, metro station coming up 400m away, NICE road couple kms away and so on - resale values are flat.

I am listing the pro's in a bit but one con is that - We are taking the builder to court. He's shortchanged us in a few areas (STP, RWH, Solar, corpus) but none that really affect the quality of our lives.

Some of the regular activities we have taken up in this direction(Pro's) are:

1. Image management:

• We do not make any sharp comments or associate with entities that do not have good intentions or are known to show us in poor light.

• CSR activities - Donate essentials regularly, conduct flea markets once in 3 months, clean the lake that's beside our apartment

2. Presentation:

• Gate - Security is professional and onboards guests with a smile. We also provide parking for guests' vehicles.

• Approach road - Well kept. We met the local MLA and got him to do up the roads. No runny drains or encroached footpaths near our apartment.

• Garden is well kept, trimmed once a week. Mix of flowers and a few trees.

3. Personality of the residents/workers:

• Depending on the size, an apartment goes for anywhere between 80L to 140L.

• Residents are quite diverse - Kannada + Hindi + Tamil + Marathi + Telugu speaking. Religion mix is not too different from the country's average. Good mix of entrepreneurs and salaried folks.

• We do not know of any residents that have associations with questionable org's

• Workers salary is on-par with the area average. They are content and have been with us for 3+ years

• Barring 3, remaining 162 apartments have been registered

Do let me know what you did to enhance your property's value.

[adisan]

I have felt that the major factor influencing the resale value of apartments is the reputation of the builder, keeping other factors like location, school/ hospital nearby etc the same. People can safely assume that with a major builder, things like property documents, construction quality, amenities etc will be good.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by vinu_h

Do let me know what you did to enhance your property's value.

Very interesting concept and I never really thought about it till I saw your thread. I assumed Bangalore apartment prices just go up and up without any real effort on the part of the government to improve infra or the builders to actually use anything resembling quality materials.

But I'm not sure apart from location that there is anything else that really affects apartment prices. And of course assuming all documents are clear. I guess once the metro starts running near your apartment complex, prices will go up.

Will be very interested in learning more from the more informed posts, thanks for starting this thread.

[KL01toKA03]

As the apartment ages, regular maintenance will play a big role in attracting a better set of people. My apartment, for example has a large percentage of owners who stay elsewhere. Their focus is to spend the minimum amount possible, and get maximum rent based on the proximity to a tech park. As a result, there is no maintenance done for anything that is not critical. This has ensured that the prices have remained almost stagnant from point the builders handed over possession to the owners.

[sagarpadaki]

I see an apartment complex as a car. While a good looking car is pleasing to eyes, the car is more valuable if it is mechanically in good condition.

So , In my opinion, unless the apartment units are in good condition, whatever is done sprucing up the exterior of the apartment/common area may not increase its value much. Unfortunately, the apartment units are owned by respective owners and their maintenance is solely dependent on owners. Two apartment units, side by side , same layout can be maintained very differently by the owners thereby the resale cost of those two units can also be different.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by vinu_h

Looking for ideas to enhance property(monetary) value. Resale values have been flat.

Do let me know what you did to enhance your property's value.

Is the rise in resale values on par with the neighboring properties? If yes, you have your answer. If not, only then there is any point in going deeper to understand the root cause.

The association can make sure the maintenance is proper and the building and amenities are maintained in top-notch condition. Other than that, nothing much you can do to affect the external factors affecting the price.

[sdp1975]

Property prices have been stagnant in Bangalore for a while. Resale depends on building age and location ( good roads, metro, proximity to the IT corridors ) and on demand and supply. In my complex in South Bangalore, rentals dropped by 20% during covid. People simply left to ther native places and there was no demand. Things are improving now with offices opening, but only a little. Besides, there are so many new constructions going on. In this situation, expecting any significant appreciation with resale property isn't really realistic IMHO.

[locusjag]

I have an activist investor friend who has made crores in real estate and from small cap shares.

He told me something that threw me off completely; real estate values in small towns have shot up recently it seems. He has made lots of money in the last year, turning around renovated houses in rural Tamil Nadu for neat profits. He says that property valuations are bound to stay flat in urban areas, while rural prices are only going to shoot up.

But come to think of it; this was probably due to occur, given the mass migration out of cities, WFH etc. Our mass media regularly prints articles these days saying that companies are calling back their employees to work; but reality is that most employers don't dare to call their workers back. People are quitting en masse, just so that they can stay put in their native places.

Overall - what I'm trying to say is, I don't think one can do much about stagnant real estate pricing in cities, given all these demographic and population shifts that are happening. Of course, what I've said is a hypothesis which is borne out by the experience of 1 person. Others can feel free to set the record straight. I'm all ears.

[thanixravindran]

I don't know that apartment resale value can be increased by maintenance or any other factors listed above. The factors listed may help in selling the apartment quicker than other non popular brand names.

To my limited knowledge, most of the value increase in real estate happens for the land in long term or when the supply is not available to meet the demand in that locality or sometimes events like inclusion in corporation limit or Metro/Tech park coming nearby, etc. So it all depends on the locality and may even take decades to happen. Or in short term (< 5 years), I have seen it happen when the land owner who entered into JV with a builder decides to sell his flats a little later after the sales of all other flats. But they know the real estate market better and will employ ways to maximize the resale. Once it happens, then resale value automatically goes up.

And finally, all of this increase in resale value is just on paper unless you are selling it (My dad is living as imaginary 'crorepathi' this way for a decade).

[sai_ace]

What about a makeover to the apartment? My Apartment is currently undergoing a paint refresh. This is a pretty big task, but one that is the most prominent. And this includes painting of the common areas etc.

[narayans80]

Appreciation in real estate is only on the land, not on the building (regardless of whether it is flat or individual).

A newer flat of individual house would have more takers than a older one.

Land value will depend on location, accessibility, drainage, water, power, safety, demand. In short, it will all be external factors that will drive this and happens over longer term not what the housing association does.

[Raghu M]

I have just put up a banner to sell my flat. It's a 2 BHK in Hyd that has appreciated by close to 70% since I bought it. That's what I have been told. Waiting for prospective buyers. My experience since I have put a banner on my apartment gate:

1. First question - which facing and square feet
2. How old is the apartment? - Mine is around 9 years old but looks like 10+ years one start depreciating in value real quick. It's hard to find buyers too
3. Is it furnished? Meaning does it have all the required wood work (cupboards, kitchen closed with shelves). If yes, there are more people interested
4. Which floor, definitely a buyer looks at the approval for the floor that is being sold. Mine comes under Gram Panchayat, while a loan is available the building needs to be regularized by the govt. (Once BRS is done, the value is pretty good as all the banks come forward to give a loan)
5. Not many are interested in taking the furniture you provide (sofa, fridge, AC, geysers etc.). Everyone just mentioned that they have all of that, they want a quotation without those fittings

It's been only 2 weeks since I put my flat for sale. Looking to close a deal pretty soon (based on enquiries). The apartment needs to be well maintained (paint, cracks on walls etc.), the corpus with the association was also enquired by a few, stilt parking has it's advantages as many people worry about a cellar getting flooded (Hyd rains are notorious). Hope this helps.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vinu_h

This is a one hit wonder, not your well known Prestige, Brigade or Sobha.

I think this is the number one issue. I have noticed that a majority of apartment buyers are brand conscious. More so in the resale market. Second reason is the demand vs supply. The market is flooded with new launches and upcoming constructions. So most people would prefer a new apartment if they can get it at the same or even slightly higher price than a resale buy.

[waypoint]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Property prices have been stagnant in Bangalore for a while. Resale depends on building age and location ( good roads, metro, proximity to the IT corridors ) and on demand and supply.

The experiences that I have had dealing with real estate people, I am responding based on that. Prices of apartments shoot up due to demand and supply. When offices were functioning earlier, most people preferred staying in close proximities to their workplaces and that shot up rentals. For rentals, people may make various compromises but for buying an abode, people typically prefer projects with positive responses to below points -

- builder's reputation and their project's market perceptions
- project's scale, project's type, safety in project and amenities in the project
- good locality with malls and restaurants around
- good or excellent connectivity by roads and quick access to ring roads, metro or nice road etc.
- close by workplaces, IT parks, schools, hospitals, colleges etc.
- any concerns related to flooding, storm water drains, lakes, river or construction quality or maintenance etc
- any concerns due to demographic distribution in and around project
- many other parameters also exist but above parameters, I believe, majorly impacts buying decisions for purchasing in resale if budget is not a constraint

Originally Posted by sai_ace

What about a makeover to the apartment? My Apartment is currently undergoing a paint refresh. This is a pretty big task, but one that is the most prominent. And this includes painting of the common areas etc.

Originally Posted by narayans80

Appreciation in real estate is only on the land, not on the building (regardless of whether it is flat or individual).

Unlike Mumbai, where land supply is very limited, Bengaluru (BLR) is expanding in all directions and builders have land pieces which can keep them busy for decades to come and that will assure a constant supply of fresh contemporary apartments in and around BLR. Unlike Mumbai, I believe, BLR misses on few laws on building life and redevelopment. Due to the constant supply, apartments, I think, only appreciate to certain number of years and they eventually all stagnate. Commonly stagnation comes, I believe, at around 10 years after the completion of the project. Some people always prefer to stay in independent house and due to the limited availability of plots or villas in developed well functional areas, their prices keep appreciating.

Well established and functional large integrated apartments having mix of residential, commercial and offices always remained in demand and fetched good returns and are comparatively easier to sell.

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

To my limited knowledge, most of the value increase in real estate happens for the land in long term or when the supply is not available to meet the demand in that locality or sometimes events like inclusion in corporation limit or Metro/Tech park coming nearby, etc. So it all depends on the locality and may even take decades to happen. Or in short term (< 5 years), I have seen it happen when the land owner who entered into JV with a builder decides to sell his flats a little later after the sales of all other flats. But they know the real estate market better and will employ ways to maximize the resale. Once it happens, then resale value automatically goes up.

Even for apartments, many builders make sales in staggered manner because both project and surrounding locality and infrastructure change during the construction period of the project and their prime units help them fetch higher returns.when the project is near the completion as the infrastructure would have got a lot better. Builder's own staff buy some premium units for themselves in very early stages for the returns they see including higher rental. Some premium units builders do not sell immediately but after few years of completion to fetch further more returns.

Hence, artificially boosting price of any apartment does not seem to be a possibility as it has to compete with fresh supplies from reputed builders where some premium will fetch buyers full life of their apartments and also contemporary designs and contemporary communities.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

I have just put up a banner to sell my flat....Hope this helps.

This helps incredibly! Buyer experiences are plenty in Bangalore, seller experiences with facts really rare. Like this post mentions, everyone is very aware of the theoretical value of their home:

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

And finally, all of this increase in resale value is just on paper unless you are selling it

...but I have never actually heard anyone come out and say how much they really finally got for their apartment or how long it took to sell. Any information you can provide will be invaluable. Obviously not looking for you to disclose actual amounts, but would be good to know if you got your asking price or what percentage of it finally, and most importantly, how long it took. Thanks in advance!