Many real estate ancillary industries are expected to reach the pre-Covid sales level on the back of rising residential demand which has already breached pre-Covid levels.
“With the demand for housing going up, the materials have to keep pace with the demand. Our target is G+4 buildings and as per our estimate the market for low rise is Rs 34,000 crore in Delhi-NCR alone,” said Amit Garg, CEO-Hippo Stores, from the house of Dalmia Bharat Group.
“The Indian building materials sector continues to grapple with the widespread challenges of accessibility and quality of offerings. Since, for high-rises the developers directly tie up with the company, we have come up construction material wholesale store for individuals and those involved in low rise construction,” said Garg added.
Companies like Saint-Gobain and GROHE are focusing on innovation such as sound proof windows for people working from home, while construction companies have recorded an increase in demand for independent houses and low rise floors.
“Covid-19 has completely changed the importance of home in our lives. Home is where we end up spending a lot of time with work, study, and leisure happening at home. Home construction has suddenly assumed a lot of importance and homeowners are not hesitant to spend on larger spaces. They want comfort of various kinds, acoustic, thermal, visual, automation, hygiene, and modularity,” said Hemant Khurana, Executive Director, Home & Hospitality Business, Saint-Gobain India Pvt.Ltd.
The company has focused on providing home solutions to consumers through MyHome, a luxury range of shower cubicles to provide end-to-end solutions.
According to an ICICI securities report, volume growth for major branded building material categories is likely to accelerate QoQ in Q4FY21 driven by growth traction in the secondary real estate market and pent-up demand in the renovation and refurbishment segment.
Hocomoco, a residential and commercial renovation provider, said the company has reported close to 100% y-o-y growth as the demand for independent houses has increased.
“People are willing to live far away, in the peripheral area of a metro city as they are looking for open spaces. This trend is visible across India and we are adding 3-5 projects every month,” said Hocomoco founder Sripad Nandiraj.
People are also open to using new technology while constructing houses.
“The Covid induced lockdown induced demand for houses and people prefer construction technology for fast and safe construction,” said Jayesh Rajpurohit, Co-Founder and CEO, Brick&Bolt, an tech-enabled construction company.
According to the ICICI report, adhesives and construction chemicals sector may witness a sharp recovery with likely sustenance of strong pent-up demand for maintenance-driven products.
The LIXIL Group, which owns global brands, GROHE and American Standard, has also come up with online virtual experience studio, to attract customers with growing demand.
“Digitization is not just a trend for the future, but also an inevitable reality of the present. Events like the recent pandemic have only accelerated the adoption and integration of digitisation into most aspects of our lives and work. There is no reason why the bathroom industry should be left behind,” said Bobby Joseph, Leader, LIXIL Water Technology (LWT), India & Sub-Continent.
