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Below are Quote on Townships - Redefining Indian Housing in Pandemic Times by Mr. Akash Pharande, Managing Director - Pharande Spaces

Townships - Redefining Indian Housing in Pandemic Times

To say the least, the Covid-19 crisis has transformed consumer preferences. The accent is now on safety, security and access to 'around-the-corner conveniences. These are natural consequences of a major pandemic that makes us scared about things that never worried us too much before - even the air we breathe and getting too close to other people.

How do you create a perception of safety in such a scenario? To state it simply, by getting more control of your personal space. It is not possible to change everything around us, but we can choose where and how we live. This is one of the main reasons why Indians had started moving out of rented properties and purchasing their own homes. You can control many things in your own home.  

But not all homes are created equal. Modern high rises look impressive from the outside - but in a pandemic, how safe is it to live in a vertical mass housing project built on a small plot in an extremely crowded city area? When you exit the building (or even before you do) how safe are you and your family in a day and age where social distancing and air purity are so important?

The Residential Formula of the Future

Usually spread over large areas enclosed in segregated compounds, integrated townships are mixed-developments that offer a highly controlled, all-inclusive lifestyle. Shopping, eating out, offices, schools, hospitals and other key businesses are all available. Another format is the residential-only township which is self-sustained in terms of all basic amenities for daily living. Such townships, which are now extremely popular, offer a variety of housing options from apartments, villas, independent floors and in some cases, even plots.

Such projects have existed in India for many years now, but demand for them is increasing hugely because of the Covid-19 outbreak. Before the pandemic, they were largely in demand by people who work in large IT or manufacturing hubs. Because townships are much larger than normal housing projects, they require large land parcels and coincidentally, IT and other industries are mostly also located on the outskirts.

Today, this customer base has grown tremendously. As more and more coronavirus hotspots were identified in the choked city areas, there has been a huge movement to outlying areas which are safer, less costly and have more healthy green surroundings. Since large townships also provide autonomous ecosystems with the added benefits of safety, recreation and community living. For people who can work from home and have kids attending e-schooling, townships are the answer to many a prayer.

A recent real estate report by the global consulting firm Ernst Young also confirms that self-sustainable integrated townships will increasingly become the preferred choice of homebuyers post Covid-19.