38 | WISH YOU WERE THERE? WORDS | John Howell


Returning to India I


’ve been to many hundreds of exhibitions over the years but the India Homes Fair, held at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel on June 23-24 was one of the most unusual. Now in its fi fth year, it caters almost exclusively to NRIs, PIOs and OCIs. For those not familiar with this terminology, NRIs are non-resident Indians. These are Indian nationals working overseas for a long period. PIOs are persons of Indian origin, a term which includes people with Indian roots who come from places such as East Africa. OCIs are overseas citizens of India, who comprise those who emigrated from India after January 26, 1950.


Here and Now 365 ltd (the organisers of the show) said: “You will only see brown faces here.” Behind this light- hearted comment lies an extraordinary truth. This show caters for a market that simply did not exist 10 years ago. In 2001, according to Here and Now, there were about 1.2 million NRIs, PIOs and OCIs in the UK but there was no culture of investing in property back home. Most investments would have


been made in this country, which is where many intended to settle. Today, the position is very different. The Indians in this country now look with pride and envy at the rapidly growing economy back in India. There are 2.5 million of them and they are very different demographically from the Indians who were here 10 years ago. One of the show’s target groups remains Indian medical professionals, many of whom have been settled in the country for many years – but they have a whole new audience of IT and other professionals working in the UK. Many of these will have been denied the opportunity of staying in this country by changes to the UK immigration rules and, in any event, many of them see India as the land of greater opportunity and the place where they wish to continue with their careers. In the meantime, they are rich and, as is the case almost all over the world, their two great ambitions are to own a nice car and a nice house. Lest you think that this is a


uniquely and parochially British phenomenon, you need to know that


such shows also take place regularly in the US, the Middle East, Australia and other key destinations. The result is a massive, motivated and niche audience. Numbers attending the show have


been going up year-on-year. So has the number of exhibitors, all of whom have come from India. This year there were 49 developers selling property in well-known locations such as Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras), but also in what are, for


“Indians in the UK now look with pride and envy at the growing economy back in India”


most Westerners, less familiar places such as Anand, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and many others. The second thing that is highly


unusual about this show is that it is promoted and arranged not by an independent commercial exhibition organiser, but by HDFC - India’s


EVENTS


www.opp.org.uk | JULY & AUGUST 2012


The India Homes Fair, now in its fi fth year, caters to a market that didn’t really exist a decade ago. Indians living in the UK (and elsewhere around the globe) are increasingly going back to their homeland. Given the fast-growing Indian economy, changes in immigration rules and a large group of developers willing to travel half way around the world to sell, this is hardly surprising


premier home loan company - who have nearly 70% of the Indian mortgage market.


In order to avoid much wasted time, frustration and disappointment, HDFC works with a limited number of developers that it considers to be top quality and who will deliver well designed and well built properties reliably and on time.


As you can imagine, having the HDFC seal of approval is a major boost for any developer in India. This, perhaps, explains why so many Indians buy ‘off plan’. In a rising market they see savings of 40% by buying in this way. Of course, those selling in Spain or Bulgaria a year or two ago would have said the same thing and so perhaps some caution would be advised – though the HDFC endorsement must give considerable comfort. Only its partner developers are invited to take part in these overseas shows. As a result, visitors (who would otherwise be nervous about buying a property thousands of miles away) have the confi dence to attend the show and to buy.


This year they were expecting about 5000 visitors. This is a number that many larger events would be proud to achieve. According to the developers I spoke to, the visitors were buying. They can come to the show and see products from all over India endorsed by HDFC, they can decide the place that they want to buy in and the type of property they want to buy. Being sensible and cautious, they will usually then for a member of their extended family to check out the site before they sign a contract.


In such a booming economy, why do these developers go to the trouble of travelling around the world selling their products? Amazingly, 20% of all property sales in India are to NRIs and some of the developers at the show talked of 25-30%.


The types of property on sale were Mumbai | apartments in the city fetch a high price – but with the rupee standing 55.6 to the dollar, they’re still good value


little different from what you would see on sale anywhere else in the world. The local market is for high-rise apartments and more expensive low- rise apartments and villa complexes. According to both the exhibitors and the show’s organisers, the market divides into two quite distinct parts.


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