Qualities of a Good Home and Affordable Housing in Gurgaon.

 “Home is where our story begins.” ― Annie Danielson

No sooner than you think of a living space than it instills a cozy, warm and comfortable feeling. Your house should be built in such a way that you and your family can live happily and comfortably. The attributes of an ideal home are determined by an individual's needs. For one, it could be the design, while it could be a strategic location or affordability for another. Reputed designers strive to maintain a high level of quality while beginning a home project. A successful developer's strength is the ability to construct an ideal house that meets the expectations of his clientele. Today, developers intend to make good homes and are running affordable housing projects in Gurgaon. 

Buyers devote a significant amount of time to researching properties online, touring homes during open houses on Sundays, and speaking with their real estate agent. They're dead set on finding the perfect property to suit their requirements. The issue is that buyers don't always take the long view of a home. They're just looking at a house as a potential buyer, not as someone who may have to sell the house in the future. Because homes are such a large investment, there should be some thought process going on within your head while you weigh your options and make judgments accordingly.

As the housing market has started to heat up again, here are ten things to think about when looking for your next house.

What should you be looking for when in search of a property?

1. Location

Perhaps there is nothing more important than location when looking for a home. Especially if you plan to sell it years later, location can make a huge difference. You can have the ugliest kitchen and bathroom on the planet. Yet, it’ll be highly sought for if located on a desirable street or in a desirable school district.

Top of the list lies the city/town where your property is located, followed by the school district, the neighborhood, and finally the block. It is worth remembering that irrespective of the market fluctuations, no one can take away a great location from you. So the next time you’re out searching for affordable housing in Gurgaon, keep all this on your checklist.

2. Safety and crime

It's a good idea to look over a neighborhood’s crime statistics. This can help you with a thorough understanding of the degree and frequency of crimes over a period. With so much information available over the internet, a quick online search about the intended location should supply you with all of the information you require.

These days, most municipalities make their police blotters or crime statistics available online. Don't be alarmed if you notice more crime than you anticipated. Crime, particularly petty crime, is rampant. If you're new to the neighborhood, talk to your real estate agent about any worries you have.

3. Accessibility/connectivity

Accessibility, on the other hand, is a measure of how many places one can visit in a given amount of time, independent of distance. So, in a densely populated location with schools, hospitals, employment, and stores, a person riding a bicycle has access equal to a car owner in a more dispersed area.

A housing project could have all of the best amenities in the complex, luring you in as a potential buyer. If the project is not connected well, though, you might want to reconsider. Because commuting is an everyday task for a house buyer, connectivity is crucial when making a home purchase decision. Commuting from a distant location can be quite taxing in terms of both money and effort. The affordable housing projects in Gurgaon are essentially focused on accessibility and connectivity.

4. Well-ventilated and Ergonomic

Good living space is essentially airy and well-ventilated. An ideal home should preferably be airy and should emanate positive energy. Residents are more likely to be healthier and happier in a home that has plenty of natural light and is sufficiently ventilated. In an ideal home, proper ventilation is a requisite for various reasons. It keeps everything moisture-free including the furniture, walls, ceilings, and floors. Proper ventilation can help get rid of unwanted odors and keep the house smelling fresh.

The interior design must be ergonomic. Ergonomic design and an efficiently used space are two of the most vital factors in determining an ideal home. A well-designed interior with efficient space utilization and ergonomic design can help to make a home appear larger.

5. Good Quality Material

The construction materials should be of superior quality and so should be the fittings. Many people choose a well-constructed house as people generally invest their entire life resources in it. Good quality fittings, such as faucets and locks, are likely to attract more customers adding a touch of oomph to the interiors, making the property desirable. When a real estate developer builds a reputation for quality construction in the market, his sales inevitably increase. As a consequence, to provide appropriate housing solutions to their consumers, most reputed developers in Gurgaon attempt to employ high-quality raw materials in their projects.

6. Affordability/Budget

At last, your budget is vital to your housing needs, thereby, making affordable housing an essential part of the housing search. Lately, the housing shortage has posed a challenge in many cities across the globe. In effect, the low and medium-income population finds it no longer afford to buy properties. Indeed, many people with typical wages can no longer afford to rent in their hometown and must either relocate or go into debt. This has made affordable housing the need of the hour. Affordable housing poses a challenge in metro cities like Gurgaon. Thereby, we understand that buying an affordable property in Gurgaon is not a cakewalk.

What is affordable housing?

As a part of the community that we live in, we often hear about the high housing cost. Everyone is feeling the pressure due to high rentals as well as costs. High housing costs in a neighborhood be causing it probably collapses. For instance, it could make things difficult for a local school system or fire department to recruit teachers or firefighters respectively. Increasing housing costs may force some individuals to choose between paying rent and buying food or getting medical care. People should not, however, be compelled to choose between two basic needs! This is where the idea of “affordable housing” enters the picture.

Affordable housing is defined as housing that a family can afford while still having enough money for other requirements such as food, transportation, and health care. Thereby what is considered "affordable" is determined by a family's income. 

Who is affected by affordability challenges and what is the state of Huda’s Affordable Housing Gurgaon?

Housing is considered affordable by the federal government when it consumes no more than 30% of a household's income.

So, who requires low-cost housing? 

Everyone from high-income earners to low-wage workers to those who are homeless, and everyone in between. The cost of a house or house rent may differ from one household to another, yet everyone requires affordable housing.

With the surge in prices, affordability has become a challenge for everyone. However, it would not be shocking to say that the lowest-income households are the ones who are most likely to be affected by this crunch. Statistically, seventy percent of the low-income households are highly cost-burdened.

Affordable housing can be referred to as housing units that are affordable to those with incomes below the median household income.

Essentially, the housing requirements of low and middle-income families should be met by affordable housing. Affordable housing has become a major issue, particularly in developing countries where a majority of people cannot afford to buy a house at the market value. People's disposable income continues to be the most important element in determining affordability. As a result, the government now has a greater obligation to meet the expanding demand for affordable housing. The Indian government, in collaboration with some developers, has taken several to fulfill the rising demand for affordable housing, emphasizing the importance of public-private partnerships (PPP) in the creation of these units. Keeping this in mind, an affordable housing scheme in Gurgaon is being run.

How to determine housing affordability?

Today, housing affordability has become difficult to determine as the widely used housing-expenditure-to-income-ratio measure has been questioned. A frequently accepted guideline for housing affordability in the United States and Canada is that housing costs, including utilities, should not exceed 30% of a household's gross income. Some definitions include the cost of upkeep as part of the overall housing cost. In the 1950s, Canada, for example, changed its 20 percent rule to a 25 percent rule. This was replaced by a 30 percent rule in the 1980s. A 40 percent rule is prevalent in India. 

Today, there are numerous types of housing affordability indexes that use a variety of criteria other than income for determining affordability. 

The California Housing Affordability Index and the Housing Affordability Index (HAI) are the two most frequently used indicators for housing affordability. While the National Association of Realtors (NAR) publishes the Housing Affordability Index (HAI), the California Association of Realtors publishes the California Housing Affordability Index monthly (CAR).

Causes, Effects & Solutions for Housing Shortage

What are the causes of the housing shortage?

Today, everyone is inefficiently using the living space, significantly contributing to the housing shortage. There is an unequal distribution of land. While the rich live in multi-room households alone, the poor hardly get any space to live. In a country with a continually increasing population such as India, it is not surprising to observe a limited supply of affordable housing space. The limited supply has led to an increase in the cost of land.

Land prices in several major cities in India have multiplied in the last ten years, and there is no reason to believe that this trend will not continue.

Another factor contributing to the scarcity of affordable housing is that construction costs have risen dramatically over time. In addition, the approval process for housing projects takes a long time, post which the construction procedure itself takes its own time. As a consequence, many development projects take years to complete, aggravating the housing issue for the longer it takes to complete buildings, and the fewer buildings are available on the market. 

One of the reasons for the growth in property prices in the urban space is people migrating from rural to urban areas. Since land is essentially a scarce resource, the housing capacity in urban areas, in effect, decreases with the shift. As an outcome, the need for housing increases. With ever-increasing demand, the prices increase continually. Subsequently, in urban metropolitan areas such as Bangalore and Gurgaon, prices are soaring high and it is difficult to find an affordable property in Gurgaon.

Effects of a Lack of Affordable Housing Projects in Gurgaon

Lack of affordable housing can have adverse effects on people. Migration from rural to urban areas comes easily only in thought. In action, it means people will have to either get into debt or simply migrate to the cheaper parts of the city as they can no longer afford high rents with their low or average salaries. This, generally, is followed by the formation of slums where the people are forced to live in impoverished conditions.

Impacting the living conditions of the people, lack of affordable housing can lead to homelessness and increase the risk of poverty. The Silicon Valley boom is a notable example of this. While the property was low-priced in the area just a few decades ago, housing prices rose steeply in the last decade as huge IT businesses relocated to the area. As a consequence, the average employee who did not work in a large corporation was not able to afford rent. Since people spend more on housing, they are left with little to spend on their other necessities. 

Likewise, people faced the same challenge in the silicon valley of India, i.e., Bangalore. Gurgaon is following the footsteps of Bangalore and probably has the same fate as that of Bangalore. Thereby, Huda affordable housing Gurgaon has become a major challenge leading to hygiene and health issues for all.

Solutions to the Housing Crisis

The level of crisis in affordable housing in Gurgaon has crossed acceptable and tolerable boundaries. It is time we have the solution(s) to this persistent problem. The primary solution to these issues is that governments across the world spend more on public housing. These housing projects intend to give low-to-moderate-income persons affordable housing. More people who are currently unable to pay their rent would be eligible for affordable housing if those projects were introduced and expanded. This would prove to be a great deal to the common people in aiding them to use the extra money on savings or other essential items.

Governments and municipalities should also ensure that more affordable housing developments are approved and that luxury housing complexes are rejected. This would help in the generation of more affordable housing space for those who need it the most in society. It is also advised to build more houses but in relatively smaller sizes.  Thus, by simply decreasing the living space in houses, more people can be helped with affordable housing. As a result, we might supply more people with cheap housing by simply reducing the living space of flats and homes.

In case of a financial crisis, the government can initiate support for renters. It can introduce schemes or implement programs to assist people who are unable to pay their rent owing to financial difficulties. For instance, in case you end up losing your job and are unable to pay the rent, the government may offer you a loan until you find another job to repay it. Fewer people would become homeless if such a program were implemented, as they would still be able to pay their rent owing to government assistance.

Another probable solution is rural development. Rural development would lead to a decrease in migration or rather reverse it, i.e., urban to rural shifts. Only when there are more or equal opportunities across the rural and urban areas, this is likely to happen.

Conclusion: 

Lately, the housing shortage has proven to be a major problem in metro cities across the world. Neither the developed countries are spared of this crisis nor the developing countries.

Housing, like any other product or service, follows the generic supply and demand economic fundamentals. There is a housing surplus when the construction exceeds the need and a housing shortage occurs when the need exceeds the construction. In effect, we see a housing shortage persists at a larger scale in overpopulated nations such as India. The country is dealing with a severe housing shortage along with a housing affordability crisis.

There are a great many ways in fixing this issue. Most importantly, governments need to provide an appropriate framework to significantly improve the incentive for building affordable housing opportunities. If this happens, then we will be able to provide enough affordable homes for those who would otherwise be rendered homeless.

Housing, like any other product or service, follows the generic supply and demand economic fundamentals. There is a housing surplus when the construction exceeds the need and a housing shortage occurs when the need exceeds the construction. In effect, we see a housing shortage persists at a larger scale in overpopulated nations such as India. The country is dealing with a severe housing shortage along with a housing affordability crisis.

There are a great many ways in fixing this issue. Most importantly, governments need to provide an appropriate framework to significantly improve the incentive for building affordable housing opportunities. If this happens, then we will be able to provide enough affordable homes for those who would otherwise be rendered homeless.

Effectively, finding a good home for your family in a metropolitan city like Gurgaon is a challenge. The challenge is not only about great location or safety or accessibility, but also talks about affordability. Finding a good yet affordable property in Gurgaon is a difficult task. So the next time you decide to take up on this, make sure you keep all the necessary things in mind.