07 December,2010 07:07 AM IST | | Varun Singh
Navi Mumbai property expo sees builders hire bevy of foreign beauties to spruce up their stalls' appeal
VISITORS to the Navi Mumbai Property Exhibition, which had its last day yesterday, had two surprises in store for them.
While they were disappointed at the sudden surge in property prices following the green signal to the airport, there was some visual relief in the form of foreign beauties hired by some property dealers to spruce up their stalls' appeal.
Russian beauties were hired by some property dealers to cater to NRI buyers at the Navi Mumbai property exhibition
Normally a fixture at auto and technology expos, these girls most of them Russian were at a property exhibition for the first time.
Manish Bhatija, MD, Paradise Group, reasoned that the girls would help them cater to NRI buyers better.
"There are many NRI clients and we have hired these girls to cater to them," he said.
One problem that visitors brought up, however, was that these girls did not have much knowledge of the product they were selling. "I went up to one such girl and asked her about the amenities of the building. She said she didn't know and directed me to an Indian salesperson," said a visitor.
When Bhatija was asked about this, he said, "She must not have understood the question asked by the visitor. There are other builders who have brought foreigners too. Why are you only asking me?"
The situation was the same at Monarch Builders' stall too. When this reporter asked a girl standing there about some details regarding the property, she said she was clueless and asked us to talk to another salesperson.
Golf courses
Many builders decided to flaunt the presence of golf courses in their properties to lure high-end buyers. At least three prominent builders, including Lodha, Shah Group and Arrow City, had huge banners advertising the golf course.
"There is a big golf course next to the plot where our building is coming up. Infrastructure is growing at a good pace in Navi Mumbai and these amenities will help us attract buyers," said Nalin Shah of the Shah Group.
None of this could, however, really help buyers who suddenly found the prices way out of their reach.
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Vidyasagar Yadav, a school teacher, said, "I had come here to buy my first house but couldn't find any within my budget. I can't understand who these builders are constructing these houses for. The rates have touched the sky."
Ravindra Kumbhar from Seawoods had the same problem. "The per sq ft rate has gone up by nearly Rs 1,000 across the board. There were very few properties that I could afford," he said.
3 lakh
Approx number of people who visited the four-day exhibition
Word of Caution
Manohar Shroff, secretary of the Navi Mumbai Chamber of Housing, cautioned builders against sudden big jumps in prices.
"The footfall was good but buyers were disappointed at the sudden huge jumps in prices. Builders should increase the prices gradually or people will just not be able to afford the properties they are trying to market," he said.
