Nearly
985 million sq ft of residential space is due for delivery between 2011 and
2013 in existing projects, says real estate data and analytics provider,
PropEquity. “To execute the amount of space they have sold, developers will
have to double their bandwidth,” says Samir Jasuja, chief executive officer at
PropEquity. In comparison, only about 522 million sq ft was delivered in
2008-10.
Builders
are pinning their hopes on Reserve Bank of India softening interest rates,
which will prompt homebuyers to return to the market. The real estate industry
is also expecting regulatory issues, which are holding up growth in key markets
like Mumbai and New Delhi, will be resolved soon.
In
Mumbai, very few new project approvals have come through in the past year since
the new government came to power in the state, as it is working on the new
development guidelines for the city. In the National Capital Region (NCR), land
acquisition problems in Greater Noida have hampered construction of about
100,000 apartments. Last year, the Allahabad High Court had asked the Greater
Noida Authority to return acquired land to the farmers, but late during the
year, it finally decided on higher compensation for farmers to settle the
issue.
After
the clarity on Development Control Rules, the number of project launches in
Mumbai could move up significantly which will result in greater project-related
hiring. Construction work in Greater Noida too is expected to resume when the
NCR planning board gives its approval.
Nearly
930,000 residential units are to be delivered across the country between 2011
and 2013, says PropEquity. And developers need a large number of people –
working in construction and marketing – if it plans to achieve this kind of
target . “Once construction work resumes, we should be hiring another 35%
additional staff to meet our requirements and deliver the apartments in the
next two-three years,” says Shiv Priya, executive director at Amrapali
Developers.
The
Confederation of Real Estate Developer’s Association of India estimates
developers across the country to do an additional hiring of at least 15% in
2012, says Lalit Kumar Jain, national president of the industry body.
Unitech,
which has launched projects across the country in 2011, plans to increase employee
strength by 15-20% in FY 2012-13. “In the first quarter, the growth will be 5%
and 10-15% in the remaining three quarters. We plan to recruit people for
design and architecture, sales, construction, CRM and property-management,”
says Ajay Chandra, managing director of Unitech.
“New
recruitment is estimated to increase by 20% led by civil engineers, project
managers, and most importantly, by sales and marketing teams,” says Paras
Gundecha, president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry.
Real
estate companies across the country are increasing their hiring budgets.
Bangalore-based Sobha Developers, for instance, has increased its budget by 15%
and plans to double its employee strength. “We have launched big projects, and
need to ensure that they get completed on time. We expect the real estate
market to further pick up with interest rates and inflation likely to come
down,” says JC Sharma, managing director of Sobha Developers.
Another
Bangalore-based developer Prestige Group will add 25% more in 2012-13 to its
current staff strength of 400. “We will hire to support our construction and
deliver on time,” says Milan Khurana, chief human resource officer at Prestige
Group.
“Most
of the fresh recruitment will be linked to approvals and launch of new
projects,” says Jagan Mohan, vice president, human resources, at Brigade Group.
According
to staffing firm TeamLease, most of the hiring is happening at the entry level,
especially by larger players who have a considerable number of projects under
construction. “There is huge requirement at the entry level but companies are
not investing too much on hiring managerial and senior level staff,” says
Rituparna Chakraborty, senior vice president, TeamLease Services.
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