Category: Articles

– by Anil Pharande, Chairman – Pharande Spaces For most Indians, buying a home is the biggest investment they'll ever make, so it makes sense to get the best options they can afford. Branded builders offer aspirational premium through high-quality homes and locations, but the idea of premium features is itself changing quickly. Wellness has become a top priority since COVID-19, which was the worst healthcare crisis in history. Wellness – The New Luxury Luxury homes have always been known for their high-end features. But before COVID-19, “luxury” in real…

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– by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces When we ask new first-time home buyers why they regret their purchase, the answers are very different depending on where they live. The 'regret' factor when buying a home is very much related to social values, which are a group of factors that don't fit into a single mould. What is important in Australia or Canada may not mean much to an Indian. Still, there are some things that everyone regrets, no matter where they live or what culture they belong…

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– by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande SpacesIf you think getting a home loan is just about having a decent credit score and a steady job, think again. Banks and NBFCs have a whole playbook of evaluation criteria – some you know about, many you don't. This festive season, as you prepare to make that dream home purchase, let me pull back the curtain on how lenders really assess whether you're a worthy risk or not. The Obvious StuffBanks evaluate home loans using many criteria – some standard, some…

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– by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces As India's cities expand, redevelopment projects are rapidly reshaping our cities' skylines—but this transformation invariably brings some serious challenges with it, namely to the natural ecosystems that have been part and parcel of the areas being urbanized. It is widely acknowledged that modern construction consumes significant resources. Buildings consume nearly a third of available potable water, as much as 1/4th of the available electricity, and give rise to huge quantities of waste. This has given rise to the trend in sustainable…

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– By Anil Pharande, Chairman of Pharande Spaces Experienced real estate investors recognize that anticipating obstacles is equally important as identifying opportunities. Ignoring possible dangers might reduce profitability and jeopardize long-term objectives. Let's look at eight of the most pressing challenges, as well as concrete measures for protecting your returns. 1.  Rising cost of capital – reduces real returns Borrowing costs influence both your financing expense and the benchmark yield you seek to outperform. India's policy repo rate rose from 4.0% in January 2020 to 6.75% in August 2025, a…

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– by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces India's housing sector stands at a critical juncture as two major policy shifts — the upcoming GST reforms and the 50% US tariffs on Indian goods — stand as opposing forces that can potentially reshape demand, affordability, and supply of housing. While the GST reforms promise relief via lower input costs, the tariffs threaten to dampen these gains. This will impact different housing segments to varying extents. GST Reforms – Limited Relief The government's proposed GST simplification into two primary slabs of…

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– by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces The real estate industry in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, its twin city, has been booming in recent years, making them two of the fastest-growing cities in India. In just five years, the number of new homes sold in Pune went from 60,000 in 2019 to 90,000 in 2024 – a huge 50% rise. This growth has obviously worked well for the local economy, but it has also revealed major flaws in the city's infrastructure. Such flaws are producing chaos that can potentially…

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– by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces Financial Independence, Retire Early in India In India’s high-rent, high-inflation environment, owning at least one sufficiently large primary home is the unavoidable first step toward achieving Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE). Without it, monthly rentals erode savings, limit your lifestyle options and flexibility, and make the 25× annual-expense rule, which is the foundation of FIRE, almost impossible to reach. Owning your home does more than eliminate the burden of rent. It also locks in a predictable housing cost, creates and grows…

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– by Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces Many Indian cities like Pune and Mumbai face a perfect storm – weak municipal governance, half-implemented master plans, and an unchecked real-estate boom. These forces hollow out civic infrastructure, create chronic shortages of water, green spaces, and affordable housing. A closer look at Pune- and parallel failures in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Delhi – reveals how this vicious cycle works, and how it can be broken. Pune – Master-Plan Meltdown Pune’s 1987 Development Plan (DP) set aside 609 land reservations for…

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