Due to COVID 19 and subsequent lock-down, there has been an unexpected boost for realty companies in the senior living segment. This has made growth in living segment companies. In India, there will be 17.3 crore senior citizens, by 2026, so realty developers are looking at the senior living with renewed interest.
Shashank Paranjape, MD of Paranjape Schemes, the oldest player who built 2,000 homes across Pune, Vadodara, and Bengaluru under the Athashri brand, he said that 50 % of growth in demand and inquiries have been increased in this pandemic. As of now senior citizens are still under the lockdown and they should remain at home, but the company expects an increase in the booking from September onwards. Even those who had booked and cancelled bookings are re-booking.
In addition to that, he added, in this pandemic, our senior citizens have been taken care more, by providing all the facilities to protect them from COVID. In this pandemic, important things like grocery items, ATM and bank facilities, medical care, etc… are made available to their doorstep and dedicated COVID care centre also providing. He has seen unusual mail from NRI children relieved that their parents were living with the children and being taken care of during the pandemic.
Within the last four to five months, there has been a fourfold rise in lead generation and three times increase in inquiries, said Mohit Nirula, CEO, Columbia Pacific Communities, he added that, In India which has nine projects 1,600 residential units. Every month since June, July, and August they have done double of the pre-COVID level business. They were seeing faster growing than before and sales have doubled, added Nirula. part of the Seattle-based Columbia Pacific Management, the company that has been building, managing and operating senior living communities within the US, China, Canada, and India, is expanding at a rapid pace.
To protect the right of signor citizens according to leading real estate company Anarock, the ministry of social justice and empowerment has defined models for operating and monitoring retirement homes. “With a controlling body for managing and improving such assets already in place, improved developer activity, the institutionalization of service providers are likely to do the next steps and institutional capital will go with them, said the Anarock report.
