“I knew, as every peasant does, that land can never be truly owned. We are the keepers of the soil, the curators of trees.” ― Lisa St. Aubin de Teran
“In an era where accessibility and convenience can make or break business productivity, infrastructure plays a pivotal role in shaping the success of real estate” … Niranjan Hiranandani (in one of his lectures)
“The first property you buy teaches you more than a hundred books you read.” ― Chad K. Smith
‘I like Home making, there is a lot more in it than just money making (till now)” … Me
Four quotes to start, sorry three, as the first three are great names & fourth is Me, who is still learning from such names & especially when the subject is real estate then, who can claim that he or she has mastered it, right? Indeed, there have been successful names in real estate but the list of failures is far more which usually gets covered by the figures & flash success of the successful names, is what I have understood in thirty-five years in it! Though many will say I am bluffing as most people associated with real estate are rich & earn lots of money, how there can be ever failure in real estate & my reply is this may have been true a decade back but today, look around with open eyes (and mind) & you will see its vice versa i.e. the rich people are associating with real estate not real estate is associated with rich people! You will say what's the difference in it, well, that’s exactly the subject of my sharing which I am honoured to be doing for Credai Maharashtra!
We are in very interestingly hard (read as weird) times of phase which even our Hon Prime Minister also has agreed & has appealed to us for saving or avoiding spending excess money, a philosophy or say lifestyle for most families of this country for ages! Yet why suddenly our PM has needed to appeal to the countrymen who have been taught this savings’ mantra from their childhood is something important especially for an industry which has probably the costliest product to offer i.e. real estate! Today, twenty or thirty lakhs may not seem so big for Pune’s real estate (an amount which actually is very big for seventy percent of Pune) but for district place like Akola, Bhandra or Vardha, it is life times earnings of even a decently placed family & yet home prices there also are in that range, now you can imagine the money involved in real estate industry! Many will say, what’s new in this, we all know, it’s because of builders only this situation has arrived, that common man can’t afford a decent (read as well as legal) home anywhere & it’s this belief of common people about the builders is my subject of sharing! As when petrol rates increase & private bus operators or taxi/ rickshaw guys & aviation companies increase their fare, does anybody blame them for making travel costlier? Or, recently govt increased duty on gold, needless to say all goldsmiths increased rates of ornaments, does anybody says goldsmith has made their marriages costlier? Govt increases tax on alcohol products, making liquor costlier, I don’t remember anybody naming liquor companies responsible for making drinking burden on pocket! Recently govt put regulative norms (which was necessary) on RMC i.e. ready-mix concrete which is inherent part of construction & RMC suppliers increased rate of concrete by 50% overnight, nobody blamed RMC people for it as they are supplying to only builders & govt works! But when home becomes costly or unaffordable then only the builders are responsible & media also says so, is my subject of sharing!
Here, many from our fraternity will say what builder can do about this (while society will say differently), it has been always like this way, nobody listens to builder’s & their problems rather nobody accepts in the first place that builders have any problem & I understand but this is why we are an association, right? First & foremost, always when you are in a group or pack, the number is your strength & somehow, we have always forgotten to use this group’s strength in the right way for the society or say has failed to show the bright side of the builders to the society. As whenever it’s about getting respect from any personality from the industry or say private sector, which names comes to your mind, Mr Kirloskar (Kirloskar Group), Mr Ratan Tata (tata group), Mr Firodia (Kinetic & Force Motors), Mr Kalyani (Kalyani Forge), Mr Choudhari (Praj Industries), Mr Anand Deshpande (Persistence Comp) & these are names just from Pune, even on Nation level, you have Mr Anand Mahendra, Mr Bharti Mittal, Mr Aditya Birla, Mr Azim Premji & many such! I will ask you a simple question, what’s one common thing in all above names; it is, none of them is a builder or from real estate & whenever even govt wants to make any policy at least someone from these names opinion is taken in consideration as well media also give their say front page or bold headline! And I blame (yes blame) real estate industry as this is our failure accept it & high time, why no big name or any name from real estate industry which has probably biggest turnover & job giving industry gets such respect from govt, from society & from media, as there lies solution to many of our problems is my subject of sharing! Here, you will again say that it has always been a trend then change the trend is my answer & this is a long process because none of the above names have made space for themselves overnight. Its combination of knowledge, culture & the way you carry yourself in the eyes of the society which we call character, has made it possible. I am not saying hardship & wealth, as real estate people also have both but the way we use our money is what defines us. Do mind all above people are no charity doers, they too are in their respective business for money making but the way they make money & the way they spend that money is what makes them different from us i.e. the builders, is something we must accept first & then follow!
Many of builders does do charity but again giving money is necessary yet the cause is also important, we pay lakh rupees for Festivals & Jayantis’ & Punytithis’ on just one phone call from some local political leader but we don’t even take call leave apart returning that call or meet that person who may be some environmentalist, wildlife or someone working for sports (not cricket) as we spend money most of the time only when we see what returns it will give us or how it will benefit us & that’s not charity that’s business again! We rarely visit schools & colleges in our locality asking them what they need, may not be money they may be needing even our time, our expertise which will benefit students. Here, again answer my question honestly to yourself, when was last time you did something by spending your time & money for any school or for any NGO, any organization, which is not run by any powerful person, I have done & trust me no more joy than that! I have delivered lectures in front of hundreds of school kids about wildlife making them aware about its importance in our life & trust me it has given me happiness & respect & honor along & in the long term it has been helpful for my business also, which I considered as a byproduct! Sorry, I am not boasting myself but explaining to you the way to honour & respect for the entire industry & not for individuals! Today, take a look around & even in a city like Pune which is dear to millions for their career or well being, you will find thousands or lakhs of people who need so many things just to survive on their own & if we think govt is there then we are fooling ourselves! Right from funding to poor kids for education to medical support to supporting wildlife researchers to environment awareness programs so many fronts of society there are people who are fighting for right cause & this is what real estate as individual & as group must look for, support the people who are doing something right for the society as that’s how people will support us! And this won’t happen in a day or even in a year, it may take years but slowly the change will be there & then you can proudly say yes, you’re a builder & this is the object of my sharing!
Guys, everybody of us has earned our bread & butter with our hard work & talent (and some luck) from our respective city as well we are blessed with nature & its our duty to pay back to the city & the nature in every possible way the way we pay development charges to our municipal corporation for every sq ft we build. Govt has authority to demand money from us on every front of real estate, the city (read as people in the city) & the nature doesn’t have any such authority on us, they just silently keep telling us their needs & if we ignore that silent demands then one day they too will neglect us, that’s what has been happening all along & we can change it! We must care for this city, people in it, trees around us, water bodies we have & act & see how the society treats us & media will follow as it thrives on people only! Many a times I come across on forums or platforms of wildlife or education where somebody says all builders should have been like you & I don’t take it as my honour but insult as that’s insult of my fraternity, that’s insult of my profession & my only wish is no builder should have to listen this but shall be respected & honoured the way Tatas’, Birlas’, Nilkenis’, Premjis’ & all such names get respected in this country, & we only can change our character, adios with this wish!
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Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...
https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345
Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying!
https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2025/12/pune-real-estate-in-2026.html
https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345
For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below
www.punecorporation.org
Think Green, Think Life
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