Combining Home Owner India with Home Owner Dubai works well for both exhibitors and home-seekers.
The Madinat Arena will once again open its doors to Home Owner India, running alongside Home Owner Dubai from April 11-12. Whether or not they are Indian nationals, the demand for property in India continues to grow among UAE residents.
Several reasons can be attributed to this phenomenon. Prior to the mid-'90s, it was a norm in India to live in rented accommodation as the cost of property and the associated taxes made ownership unthinkable for most.
Following the IT boom in the mid-‘90s and the subsequent increase in incomes, a prospering population wanted to plan ahead and possess their own homes. This, coupled with an improvement in the infrastructure of urban centres, made the locations of new property developments more accessible.
Banks started to compete for loan customers by offering lower rates so that mortgages became affordable. The Indian government's recent decision to allow foreign investors 100 per cent ownership in the real estate sector has further fuelled this growth. It has seen prices go up, generating equity growth for the investor.
The internet has allowed potential buyers access to a wide choice of property, both pre-owned and off-plan developments. Many NRIs and foreign investors, however, prefer to meet face to face with a developer or a real estate agent. Exhibitions such as Home Owner India have been able to cash in on this. Rajnish Oswal, Nahar Enterprises, who is also the sponsor for Home Owner India, says, "Lots of people are looking to buy property in India. We had taken part in Home Owner India last year too, and had excellent footfall and results from the event."
Combining Home Owner India with Home Owner Dubai is a formula that clearly works for exhibitors. Stuart Moore, Managing Director, Silicon Gates, an exhibitor at Home Owner Dubai, says, "There were several Iranians, locals and others from GCC who visited the exhibition last year. Indians who came to the exhibition to visit Indian stands visited our stands as well."
Ali Tumbi, Managing Director, Aqua Properties, another exhibitor at Home Owner Dubai, says, "As you know, the show is bundled with Home Owner India. Hence there are Indian visitors to the show. Many among them are interested in investing in real estate here and that is our target market."
Last year's exhibition recorded more than 3,200 visitors in two days ensuring that the stands were constantly busy, say the organisers of the event. Commenting on the exhibition, Simon O'Herlihy, General Manager, Motivate Events, organisers of the exhibition, says, "We have implemented a comprehensive marketing plan promoting Home Owner India and Home Owner Dubai using both English and Hindi media, to attract maximum number of visitors. Our representatives and partners in India, Media Star, are booking more space each year in Home Owner India for their clients in property development and real estate. I am obviously encouraged by the number of Indian exhibitors who come back each year, Nahar Enterprises in particular. This clearly demonstrates the number of visitors we attract."
Visitors to Home Owner India 2008 can expect to see developments offering villas, town houses and apartments in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune, among others.
For more information including online registration, log onto www.homeownerdubai.com.
Event essentials
- Home Owner India
- Dates: April 11 and 12
- Venue: Madinat Arena
- Organiser: Motivate Events
