Monthly Archives: July 2025

For years, Gen Z was typecast as the “renter generation”, a demographic content with co-living, flexible leases and low-commitment living. But that narrative is quickly becoming outdated. Today, a growing wave of Gen Z buyers is entering the real estate market, and they’re doing it with clarity, confidence, and a completely new mind-set.

According to Knight Frank’s upcoming 2025 report, “Beyond Bricks: The Pulse of Buying Home”, an impressive 71% of Gen Z respondents in India prefer owning a home over renting. This represents a major shift in perception from the millennial era, when flexibility and economic uncertainty pushed many young adults towards rental living. Gen Z, in contrast, sees property not only as a financial asset—but as a symbol of stability, identity and aspiration.

Homeownership as Self-Expression

Interestingly, the report highlights that 36% of Gen Z buyers are purchasing homes for personal use, while another 36% plan to renovate or upgrade their property. These numbers point to a generation that doesn’t view real estate as a passive investment or a hand-me-down milestone. For Gen Z, owning a home is both a life decision and a lifestyle statement.

This aligns with broader behavioural trends: Gen Z is a generation raised in hyper-personalised digital environments. Their homes, like their social feeds, are expected to reflect who they are—visually, functionally, and emotionally.

Under-Construction Appeal: Future-Focused Thinking

One of the most telling insights from the report is Gen Z’s strong preference for under-construction properties—with a staggering 73% opting for this segment. The reas ons are practical yet strategic: lower entry costs, phased payment structures, and the freedom to customise their space.

This preference also speaks volumes about Gen Z’s willingness to play the long game. They’re not just buying for today; they’re investing in their future. It’s a mind-set that contrasts with the instant-gratification culture often associated with their digital upbringing.

The Role of Intergenerational Wealth

Another emerging factor reshaping home buying patterns is intergenerational financial support. While traditional mortgages remain dominant, 12% of Gen Z buyers are able to draw on family wealth to fund their purchases. In high-demand urban markets like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR, this financial edge allows younger buyers to compete more effectively—often leapfrogging affordability barriers that would otherwise delay entry.

Developers and lenders are taking note. Several are now offering customised payment plans, co-borrowing models and digital-first buying journeys designed with this young demographic in mind.

Space Over Location: A New Urban Priority

Apartments remain the top choice, with 70% of Gen Z preferring them, primarily due to their alignment with community-centric lifestyles and access to city infrastructure. But there’s a twist: 53% of young buyers now prioritise space over location.

In a post-pandemic world where hybrid work, content creation, and self-care routines are part of daily life, space has become a non-negotiable. Whether it’s a home office, podcast studio, or wellness nook, Gen Z buyers want their square footage to work harder—and smarter—for them.

The Digital Influence on Real World Decisions

Unlike earlier generations who relied on brokers or site visits, Gen Z’s homebuying journey often starts on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube or Reels. Aesthetic sensibility, aspirational content, and user-generated tours heavily influence how they imagine their future homes.

But this isn’t just about vibes—it’s also translating into smarter financial behaviour. The same buyers watching moodboard tours are also comparing EMIs, ROI and neighbourhood analytics. It’s a uniquely Gen Z blend of aspiration and acumen.

A Generation Redefining the Market

For developers, lenders and policymakers, this evolving Gen Z behaviour represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Their preferences demand more than just affordability—they require transparency, flexibility, digital-first engagement, and authentic branding.

From a macroeconomic lens, India’s housing market is projected to touch $1 trillion by 2030, and Gen Z will play a pivotal role in that trajectory. Their decisions are not just reshaping demand—they’re setting new benchmarks for how homes are designed, marketed and delivered.

In a world that rarely pauses, homeownership is offering Gen Z something increasingly rare: a place to land, to define, and to grow. For a generation raised on constant movement, buying a home is more than just a transaction—it’s a declaration.

In today’s digital-first economy, data is not just an asset—it is the engine that drives modern marketing. The real estate sector, long reliant on traditional outreach like newspaper classifieds, billboards, and open houses, is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Instead of broadcasting one-size-fits-all messages to broad audiences, developers are leveraging data to deliver deeply personalized, high-conversion marketing strategies that resonate with individual buyers.

The Rise of Targeted Marketing in Real Estate

Historically, real estate marketing operated on volume. Success depended on maximum visibility: full-page newspaper ads, TV commercials, and location-based billboards aimed at reaching as many people as possible. While effective in generating awareness, these methods lacked precision. There was little distinction between a serious buyer and a casual browser, leading to inefficient resource utilization and slower conversion cycles.

Data-Driven Personalization: A Game Changer

Today, we are in the era of micro-targeting—driven by insights from demographic data, behavioural patterns, digital footprints, and real-time analytics. The shift is more than technological—it is strategic. Developers and brokers now build detailed buyer personas, enabling them to segment audiences by life stage, income group, career type, online activity, and lifestyle preferences.

For instance:

• A first-time millennial homebuyer in Mumbai might respond best to Instagram Reels showcasing smart home features, flexible EMI plans, and short commute times.

• Meanwhile, a retired NRI buyer interested in a vacation property may prefer detailed email newsletters focused on tax benefits, lifestyle amenities, and local community testimonials.

AI, ML & Predictive Intelligence: Powering the Next Wave

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has further accelerated this evolution. These technologies analyze past buyer behavior to predict future actions, helping sales teams allocate efforts more efficiently. Predictive scoring models can now assign a “buying probability” to each lead—helping marketers prioritize hot leads and customize follow-up messaging.

For example:

• A prospect who spends time browsing 3BHK apartments and frequently revisits certain listings can be sent tailored video walkthroughs, mortgage calculators, or exclusive pre-booking offers through an automated marketing platform.

• Chatbots and WhatsApp AI agents, powered by NLP, can maintain intelligent conversations with clients 24/7—answering FAQs, scheduling visits, or nudging interest with limited-time offers.

Unified Customer Profiles with CDPs

The rise of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) is empowering real estate marketers with a 360-degree view of their prospects and clients. By integrating data from CRM systems, website interactions, social media behavior, and third-party sources, a CDP creates a dynamic profile of every buyer.

This means a marketer can know not only that a customer visited the website—but that they also:

• Recently got married (via social media indicators),
• Are job hunting in a new city (via LinkedIn activity),
• And have downloaded the floor plan of a 2BHK unit (via website analytics).

Geospatial Analytics: Location Intelligence in Action

Location remains the most critical factor in real estate—but now, it is augmented by geospatial data. Using tools like heat maps, GIS systems, and mobile location analytics, developers can:

• Identify upcoming hotspots for new launches,
• Map customer visits to physical locations,
• Predict gentrification trends or infrastructure upgrades,
• And target communications based on proximity or commuter behavior.

For example, data might reveal that 70% of weekend site visitors at a Thane project come from Powai. This insight could redirect ad spend to hyperlocal campaigns targeting Powai residents with optimized travel time messages.

Hyper-Targeting on Social Platforms

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads have evolved into precise marketing engines. By leveraging behavioral targeting—based on search history, life events (like engagements, childbirth, relocations), and interest categories—marketers can deploy dynamic ads that feel custom-made.

Example:

• A buyer who recently searched for “schools in Goregaon” may start seeing carousel ads for Arkade’s family-friendly housing project nearby, featuring amenities like playgrounds and tuition centers.

The Business Impact: Efficiency and ROI

All this data-led precision translates into measurable business outcomes:

• Cost Efficiency: Targeted digital campaigns reduce the cost per qualified lead by 30–50%.
• Faster Conversions: Personalization increases lead-to-sale speed by up to 40%, as per industry benchmarks.
• Higher Engagement: Email campaigns powered by AI and user behavior data have 3x higher open rates and 2x better click-through rates than traditional newsletters.

Conclusion: Data is the New Message

In the contemporary real estate market, data doesn’t just support marketing—it defines it. The transition from generic outreach to intelligent engagement is not merely a trend—it is a necessity for competitive differentiation. At Arkade Developers, we are fully embracing this digital shift, blending human insight with machine intelligence to create memorable, meaningful, and measurable buyer journeys.

As the industry evolves, those who harness the power of data will not only market better—they will build better relationships, communities, and brands.

In recent years, sustainable practices have become noticeable in the way Indian real estate projects are developed, designed and implemented. It started with a few visionary programmers, but now everyone is on board, thanks partly to liking from customers and rising costs and concerns about the environment.

The transition has been slow but significant. Previously, it was all about optimizing carpet area and fast-tracking work. Today, we are supposed to reconcile space efficiency with energy performance, natural light, and thermal comfort. This has transformed the way we plan layouts, select materials, and even construct buildings. Houses are no longer constructed to be sold—what is happening is that houses are now being planned to get better with time, economically and ecologically.

Purchasers are making better-informed decisions. It is routine for families to inquire if a project has rainwater harvesting, solar panels, trash disposal systems, or EV charging stations. They were not discussed a decade ago. Now, they make the difference in decision-making, particularly in mid to upper-income categories. This change in attitude has pushed the sector into adopting. Those developers who wish to remain competitive are now considering green features as integral parts of their proposition, rather than add-ons.

This evolution has also impacted construction practices. Many developers, including us, have adopted systems like aluminum formwork, low-carbon cement, and modular components to reduce waste and speed up timelines. Vendors have also evolved. A decade back, there were limited suppliers offering environmentally responsible materials. Now, the supply chain is wider and more efficient, making it easier to plan sustainable construction without slowing down execution.

One of the most significant changes is realizing that green development is not solely for compliance. It is for future-proofing. With shifting weather patterns, water scarcity, and rising energy costs, buildings that are inefficient in terms of resources will become a liability. This has forced developers to invest upfront in green planning—not only for regulatory clearances, but to get long-term value for the buyer and the builder too.

All the same, there are difficulties. Sustainable design tends to cost more in the beginning, and not everyone is willing to shell out for long-term dividends now. In affordable housing particularly, it is hard to reconcile cost with sustainable design. Nonetheless, the trend is clear. With time, improved awareness, greater policy support, and economies of scale will make green construction feasible at all price points.

The real estate sector has taken tangible strides over the past decade, but there is yet much to achieve. Sustainability has evolved from being an esoteric idea to a given. We, as developers, owe it to ourselves and posterity to create for the future, and not merely for the current moment. Green architecture is not a fad—it is the basis upon which sustainable and future-proof real estate in India will be created.

Today, because we have less space, how we set up our homes is very important for all three things: comfort, elegance and being useful. Unifying the living room and the dining area is not only popular these days, but it also helps transform cramped homes into one big, peaceful space. This way of organizing a space supports a seamless look and gives more room for activities.

When the living and dining areas blend together, it’s easier for people to interact and have fun with one another which is important today. The days of homes with lots of small, separated rooms are behind us. Today, important aspects in spatial planning are being open, clear and multi-functional. Replacing physical structures and using a unified style can lead to a much improved indoor atmosphere for homeowners.

Proper furniture placement and design touches make a room much more functional. Tables that grow larger for dining, flexible sofa modules and hidden storage coffee tables give you more possibilities without making the room feel full. Using area rugs and designer lighting, you can gently divide shared rooms into different zones and preserve an organised design without walls in sight.

Choosing colour can increase the feeling of spaciousness in any room. Saturated colors reflect less light compared to light shades, so light creams, dove greys and pale pastels will give your home a bright and comfortable feeling. Placing mirrors, using large windows and leaving sightlines unblocked adds to the look of an open place. Having floating flooring in both rooms gives the space a smooth appearance and prevents any breaks in the room’s harmony.

As well as looking nice, living and dining areas together help keep resources down to a minimum. Because heating, cooling and lighting are used by everyone, it cuts energy use and is good for the environment. With more people working remotely and spending plenty of time at home, this design can serve all our needs in one multipurpose space.

More and more, developers and architects are choosing this model, especially in cities and high-end residential buildings. Not only does it suit what today’s homeowners expect, but it also adds value to their property. Today, modern buyers find houses with flexible rooms to be more attractive, since they want appealing spaces and things that are easy to use.

Ultimately, bringing living rooms and dining halls together is not only a design idea—it is now a smart plan for proper house planning. Every square inch is now designed to give you the best experience, be highly efficient and look wonderful. With cities expanding, concepts of intelligent design will guide the future of what it means to have both luxury and space in smaller homes.