Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) organized REHAB Fair  in Dhaka recently. With more than 270 participants the fair attracted thousands of visitors some of whom came to buy, some just for window shopping and some to quench their curiosity. The organizer termed the fair a very successful event this year.

Apart from established names such as Building for Future, Concord Real Estate and Assurance Developments, some new names were added to the list of exhibitors. Mohammad Wahid Uz-Zaman, Assistant General Manager of Abdul Monem Properties Ltd. maintained, "Although we are new in the real estate market, we are a well established group with our other renowned brands like coca-cola and Igloo."  At the fair the company was not taking any bookings but was providing advice and information about their service.    According to him, the      primary objective of their  attending such an event was to create awareness of their presence in the real estate sector. "We are here to let the people know that they can rely on us to provide quality  property."  He claimed that the company is now engaged in building one of the biggest commercial spaces ever in Bangladesh which is around 7, 00000 sq. ft. "Very soon we will go for direct booking and selling and then we will definitely offer attractive discounts and other incentives to our      clients. The response we are getting is very positive and it shows people have firm confidence in us in regard to our providing quality products in the market and now it is our duty to prove once again  that they are not wrong."

Md. Mizanur Rahman, Deputy Manager (sales & marketing) of Concord Real Estate company, expressed his complete satisfaction at the response the company was receiving from the fair, claiming, "As usual Concord is getting huge response from the fair and we can proudly say that we are getting the maximum number of clients." He informed ET that at the fair Concord was giving its clients a lot of incentives in the form of lucrative prizes such as cars, furniture and dinner sets while offering flats in places like Gulshan, Banani, Uttara, Dhanmondi, Azimpur and Arambag. "Our target customer this time is the middle income group and our prices are quite reasonable. By spending Tk.1800000 to Tk.3500000 one can own a beautiful apartment."  He pointed out that handing over  property  to  the   customer timely is one of the main challenges for developers. "However, we always try to keep our commitment. We hope and believe that      RAJUK will take required and positive steps to provide quick service enabling us   to maintain our commitment  to   our  clients  more   satisfactorily."

Tanvir Ahmed Khan, Assistant Manager (marketing) of Building for Future, which is one of the most prestigious real estate companies in the country, observed REHAB fair is a regular arrangement by the Real Estate and  Housing Association of  Bangladesh and year by year it is becoming more and more popular, commenting the fair is an excellent place to get all the required information under one single roof. The response the company was getting from the clients this time was huge, he claimed, adding that unlike many other participants who were offering huge discounts Building for Future was    offering   nominal discounts - only 5%.  The company's quality flats were being offered at a price between Tk.4500 and Tk1200 per sq. ft. Its ongoing projects include those at Banani, Lalmatia, Khilgaon, Kakrail, Motijheel, Uttara and Green Road while some of its upcoming projects are at Shaymoli, Gandaria and   Uttara.

Assurance Developments, another leading name in the sector, organized an exhibition of their own before participating in the REHAB fair. Md. Ashraful Alam Joarder, General Manager (sales), while being interviewed at the solo fair, said, "We've arranged this [solo] fair with a view to approaching our middle and upper middle class customers. For this we are here with our Assurance City behind the cantonment. We have tried our level best to make it a non commercial place with playground, grocery shops and walkway inside the project so that the dwellers could feel themselves special." He informed ET that their ongoing projects are in a number of places including Dhanmondi, Uttara, Banani, Gulshan, Mohammadpur, Mirpur and Moghbazar. "In total, we are dealing with around 115 projects now." According to him, in Assurance City there are 6 buildings with flats being offered at a very competitive price, which is between Tk.4000 and Tk.4800 per sq. ft. However, he acknowledged that pricing for their other projects is a little high - at Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Banani, the price is around Tk.8000 toTk.13000 per sq. ft. He said more effective service can be provided to the clients if proper support is received from Government departments such as RAJUK. "As per recent regulations, for high-rise buildings, it takes almost a year or more just to get the approval which is a big concern for the customers as well as for the developers." The time factor also increases cost and consequently the price. In the REHAB fair Assurance Developments participated mainly to promote their brand to the    customers.

M. Mainuddin Ahmed (Moin), Assistant General Manager, (marketing, customer relation and sales) of Metro Homes Ltd was happy with the outcome of    REHAB Fair. "The response is awesome!" However he remarked that Hotel Sheraton is not a suitable place for holding such a large fair where there are so many stalls. "It is a bit congested for the big number of stalls and visitors. It would be much better to organize such a fair in a place like Bangabandhu International Conference Center." At the fair Metro offered a discount of Tk.100000 for each apartment and Moin maintained that they will continue with their promotional activity throughout the whole month of January. "We have fixed our price range, which is between Tk.3000 and Tk.12000 per sq. ft., and our project locations are at Gulshan, Dhanmondi, Shaymoli, Mohammadpur, Jatrabari and Malibag, among other areas. We have tried to cover almost all the attractive locations in the city."

Md. Asker Ibne Anwar,      Jr. Executive, (sales & marketing), Biswas Builders Ltd, claimed they were offering 15% discounts  on each booking at the fair to attract clients and will continue to do so during the rest of the month of January. Their project areas include Uttara, Bashundhara, Mirpur, Malibag, Green Road, Mohammadpur and Sherebangla Nagar and the price is between Tk.4000 and Tk.12000 per sq. ft.

Md. Mynul Islam Sourov, Executive (sales & marketing) of Everest Holdings & Technologies told the ET  reporter that their projects are located in different areas of the city like Uttara,     Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Laxmibazaar, Rampura and Bashabo and their price range is     between Tk.3500 and Tk.4500 per sq. ft. At the fair the company offered 5% discount.

ET Report