A Few Thoughts

Much has happened since the publication of the last issue of Brigade Insight - Indian economy has become stronger with the positive impact of GST taking shape, slowly but surely; Stock indices have zoomed with Sensex touching 38,000; BJP was not able to form the government in Karnataka in spite of being the party to win the largest number of seats; Passing away of the doyen of Tamil Nadu politics Sri Karunanidhi; Brigade launching a flurry of projects et al.

Unfortunately, the international scene is quite uncertain with Oil prices going up and the unpredictable approach of the US President resulting in a trade war between the United States & China, the world's two largest economies. This has brought in a lot of uncertainty to the external macro environment though, the United States economy, which contributes more than 25% to the world's GDP, is doing well. The resultant impact on our currency is negative as the Indian Rupee has weakened by 7% and will affect the country's balance of payments.

Though the Indian manufacturing sector is showing good order books, companies are declaring better financial results and though the Monsoon is by & large good, there is a certain amount of anxiety amongst trade and industry due to interest rates beginning to go up, apart from the uncertainty of impending parliamentary elections in early 2019.

After three years of a recessionary trend in real estate, the sector seems to be on the recovery path. With not many new project launches during the last two years, unsold numbers have come down and prices have stabilised. With the implementation of RERA, much-needed customer confidence and positive sentiment are returning back. The Central government is doing its bit by increasing the thrust on infrastructure improvement. The spoilsport can be rising home loan interest rates.

In this background, Brigade has launched a number of new projects and is gearing up to launch several more in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad & Mysuru. With ‘Parkside' as the brand for ‘Independent Living for Seniors', we are offering well thought out residences in all four directions of Bangalore. We are back to offering Ownership Offices for investment, lease or for own use. In fact, the first three projects of Brigade in the late 80s & the early 90s were all commercial projects. We have also started the concept of ‘Managed Residences' in our villa projects in Devanahalli - Brigade Atmosphere & Brigade Orchards. With ‘Ease of Occupation' for the customer in mind, we have introduced ‘Brigade Plus' initiative offering a host of conveniences. With the launch of ‘One Brigade App', our customers can avail a number of benefits.

With the commencement of the festival season, business & investor sentiments will improve. I seek the continued goodwill and patronage of our customers.