We happened to speak with Nitin Gupta, Senior Vice President at Mantra Properties. With over 16 years of experience in Sales & Marketing and distribution of financial products & real estate, Nitin has deep expertise in developing & managing Retail & Institutional channels in order to derive the required market share, revenue and profit. Here’s his perspective on how second wave of Covid19 has impacted Real Estate.
How do you think, the second wave of Covid-19 has impacted the real estate market?
The Realty sector has its share of ups and down but usually, it overcomes the worst and keep delivering. Even during the pandemic since last year, when all were under lockdown, the realty sector experienced a rise in housing demand, and by Q2 AND Q3 this demand almost surpassed pre covid levels. Q1 of fy 21-22 has been little slow so far , however this blip is temporary , sooner the second wave will start subsiding and we will see a strong rebound in demand . Overall, I still see a very promising year ahead.
How are the builders going to keep the momentum of Sales during this period?
We as a business owners need to quickly adapt, prioritize and pivot. Most important part is adaptation to digital and virtual space. Today it has catch up with your home buying also. Our Sales presenter is replaced by online flip books, ATL marketing to Digital, Physical site visit to virtual Experience with various walk through and other tools. So while being sensitive to pandemic crisis we have created smooth processes for seamless buying experience for our customers.
How different are the effects of second wave of Covid-19 than the first?
Known devil is always better then unknown devil, With first wave we were less informed and prepared, now we are better prepared with vaccinations and other health infra and medication. So the impact is unlikely to be as devastating as last year. Now business impact will depend on how fast India manages to contain the second wave.
How are you placing yourself on personal and mental level midst the Pandemic?
I am spending time with family and friends through online and virtual mediums . Work well enough from home Dealing with emotional well-being when you are getting bad news of hardship of friends and society at large is not easy , so I pray to supreme power for sometime on a daily basis
Thoughts on ‘third wave’?
It may not take place at all , if precautions are taken . The Pandemic has different peaks and falls across the globe and country. Ramping up of vaccinations across age group is going to be the key
Do you want to communicate any message to the readers?
Light always overcomes darkness”. Covid-19 has impacted nearly every facet of life and to make it through the pandemic, we have to have hope. Rather than looking at the current situation in a negative manner, I would rather use this time to plan for the future and look for ways to make business processes more robust and resilient so that we can hit the ground running when stability returns.
