Festive Realty - Transformative Change In Marketing & Sales Strategy

One reason why the real estate advertising landscape is quieter and devoid of usual frenzy this year is the deluge of ads by quick commerce, mobile phones, electronics, furniture and travel companies (booking full page ads and multiple jackets in newspapers) leveraging price cuts through GST2.0 reforms. Real estate developers fear that at this juncture their ads may get lost in the cacophony of quick commerce.  They would rather wait for this rush to be over. Also, as a strategical shift, home ads are now spread out on quarterly basis.

According to Gaurav Jain, MD, Samyak Properties and CEO-India, Infracorp Bahrain, there is a transformative change in the behaviour of both developers and home buyers with regard to festive buying. "Sales are being now pushed throughout the year beyond traditional festivals of Navratri, Ganesh Utsav and Diwali and homebuyers are not much bothered about auspicious/inauspicious occasions and make purchases even in 'shraddha' and lean months of monsoons", he says. 

The traditional approach of relying heavily on print and outdoor, with newspapers ads and billboards as dominant channels, has given way to 'digital-first approach'. Particularly, post-covid, the focus has shifted to property portals and engagement through online ads, google-search campaigns, virtual tours, AR/VR experiences and AI-powered lead management.  Says Ashwinder R Singh, Chairman, CII Real Estate Committee, "In line with their recalibrated strategy, developers are shifting from high-decibel mass campaigns to sharper more targeted outreach that aligns with today's discerning homebuyer. Digital platforms, curated experiences and culturally resonant messaging are taking precedence over traditional print dominance”. Adds Ankit Kansal, MD & CEO, 360 Realtors & Axon Developers, "Apart from digital marketing, developers are banking big on events, celebrity endorsements, channel partner activation as an effective mechanism to boost sales".

Talking about the changing media-mix, Alok Gupta, Director, Graphisads says, "Marketing media mix has significantly evolved today as developers have become more professionalised, evolved and intelligent". Gone are the days when ATL spend was up to 90%, today it has come down to 50%. Presently, builders are allocating 25-30% of their marketing budget to digital media as end-users are more digital-savvy. About 10-15% budget is allocated to events. With the boom in luxury housing and home buyers becoming more aspirational, there is a new trend of experience centres (each costing about INR 5-7 crores) and developers are granting 5% marketing budget for this.

Amidst moderating margins, builders are are spending judiciously on marketing. The rising trend of pre-sales by large listed developers, has taken sale pressure off them, especially during festive season. "Particularly reputed builders with good track record, have seen that what matters for selling is quality and timely delivery, rather than just banking on ad blitz.Such builders enjoying great credibility, are giving occasional ads for brand building or for thanksgiving after the project is sold out, rather than for pushing sales.  DLF Dahlias in Gurgaon was sold by invitation". says Gaurav Jain.  "It's a sign of maturing sector which is learning that sustainable credibility and trust create far deeper impact than seasonal noise", adds Ashwinder R Singh. Further, instead of solely relying on freebies, the focus has shifted to flexible payment plans to lessen EMI burden and developers are increasingly tying up with banks for this purpose. 

As developers face the challenge of slowing sales due to high property prices.  some of them are adopting the old tactics of playing mind games with homebuyers, hustling them to go for festive buying. They are creating the 'Fear of Missed Opportunity'-FOMO, telling prospective homebuyers that prices will rise further after the festive season. Especially as average apartment prices, according to a Magicbricks report, have seen 87% surge since 2021, with Gurgaon & Greater Noida recording a prohibitively high price rise of 166% and 163% respectively. Though real estate developers are exuding optimism about festive realty performing well in October-December festive quarter due to many fundamentally favourable factors, it remains to be seen how successfully they tackle the biggest barrier of high prices to push sales.

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