Build fast. Sell faster. Forget. End of story?

No way. At least, not any more.

In these times of real estate boom, especially since the government opened up this sunrise sector to foreign direct investment in 2005, it is the consumer who is king. So developers had better satisfy their expectations.

Of course, there’s a prize if they do. And who chooses the winners? The consumers, naturally — 85 per cent of the marks comes from them.

The move to rate builders followed a market survey done by AC Nielsen ORG Marg with Liberty. The prize — the Liberty Smart Living Awards 2006 — was announced in November in New Delhi. From the East, DC Paul & Associates won the awards in the luxury and premium categories, while Bengal Peerless triumphed in the economy segment. Bengal Ambuja was the overall winner from the zone.

So what are the factors that decided which builder is the best in the business in these days of “innovations and cutting-edge development in housing, home décor, durables and real estate”, as the surveyors put it? More so in a sector where the residential segment, according to industry body Ficci’s International Real Estate Summit 2005, accounts for almost 75 per cent of the market.

Is it value for money or timely delivery? Or is it transparency, flexible payment options or realty reputation?

Backed by an “in-depth, independent market research” by AC Nielsen ORG Marg and validation by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the awards were positioned as “a true benchmark” for the country’s most preferred building brands.

The awards were divided into two broad categories — Hamara Ghar and Hamara Household (which covers home appliances) — and instituted across four zones: east, west, north and south. In the “ultimate home” (Hamara Ghar) section, 85 per cent weightage has been given to consumer preference. “Opinion leaders” — among them architects, designers and property dealers — account for the rest.

The study to find out the “most preferred builder” and “preferred brands in household segments” was conducted in September-October in 17 centres across the country and covered 7,680 respondents in SEC A and B.

“We broke up the home segment into luxury, premium and economy categories. In Calcutta, we had to scale down the luxury segment cut-off to Rs 35 lakh-plus from the Rs 50 lakh-plus we had started off with,” says Vivek Kumar, associate director, AC Nielsen ORG Marg.

The Premium category was slotted between Rs 20 and 35 lakh and economy below Rs 20 lakh.

Of the 714 respondents in the city, 669 were owners and “intenders” of flats, while 45 were opinion leaders. Among the 669 respondents, 373 have been flat-owners. Of them, 172 lived in self-built homes while 201 stayed in firm- or builder-built homes or flats.

The remaining 296 interviewed were intenders who planned to buy a house or a flat in the next six months.

“We asked them which builder they will recommend and who will be the most preferred builder for them and why. Based on the responses, a developer was picked for the award in each of the three categories (luxury, premium and economy), besides an overall award for the entire region going to the builder who got the highest points across the three categories,” Kumar says.

The preference index was based on the awareness, recommendation and preference scores of the brands and the builders. “The main objective is to give the consumer, who is often confused with the clutter of information, a sense of direction,” says Rajesh Mendiratta, assistant vice-president, 360 Degrees Experience (north and east), the prime mover behind the awards.

In Calcutta, the real estate fraternity has welcomed the awards but says respondents should ideally have been mostly end-users.

“It’s surely a good initiative and will motivate the developers to excel, besides improving the perception of the industry. However, it’s important for the survey team to carry out opinion polls of actual buyers who have been through the whole hog and also pick some of the buildings at random and assess,” says Pradip Chopra of the PS Group.

Pawan Agarwal of property agents NK Realtors agrees that the awards would foster healthy competition. “But the sample size for such a large metro like Calcutta should have been bigger for a more accurate feedback. Also, factors like timely delivery, transparency, customer service and quality commitment must be given due importance,” he says.

The awards were partnered by BAI (Builders Association of India), Credai (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India), Cetma (Consumer Electronics and TV Manufacturers’ Association), IIID (Indian Institute of Interior Designers) and Naredco (National Real Estate Development Council) among others.

“We make smart products for people who believe in smart living,” says Adarsh Gupta, chief executive of Liberty Whiteware. “The Liberty Smart Living Awards based on consumer feedback will inspire manufacturers of top brands to further raise the bar.”