Creating Thoughtful and Affordable Path

Mr. Sachin Agarwal, Chairman & Managing Director, Maple Shelters

In an exclusive interview with Built Expressions, Mr. Sachin Agarwal Chairman & Managing Director of Maple Shelters, who went on to make a difference to realty segment tells Built Expressions that making low-cost housing a truly affordable to buyers is his motto.

“One day, I heard one of my father’s friends grumbling about builders not delivering the right kind of projects and wondering if he would ever be able to buy his own home. In that context, I heard an opportunity to tap the potential of real estate arena, in which I decided to make a difference. I nurtured the same dream that has now been translated into Maple Shelters. Now, it continues to be of creating warm and welcoming affordable homes. That’s how the real estate business began for us”, recalls Mr. Sachin Agarwal Chairman & Managing Director of Maple Shelters, while speaking on the successful journey undertaken by his organization. Maple Shelters was incorporated by his father Mr. Ashok Agarwal after a strong endeavor at all the businesses. 

At the initial stage the office was set up in a 70 square foot space with a small board outside. Today, Maple Shelters' boards catch the glimpse of every passerby, and the office is sprawled across 7,000 square feet. Maple Shelters has completed 20 lakh sq ft area of development and has 10 million sq ft under development. At this juncture, the concept of affordable home which are by no means inferior has caught on big time with lower middle-class buyers.

History

Maple Group was founded in 1997 as Goyal Constructions. Goyal Constructions continues to be the parent company for Maple Shelters. It was in the year 2003 Maple Shelters brand was launched with a sharp-focus on specific real estate verticals. The AaplaGhar initiative was launched in 2013 to address the housing needs of countless middle class families who wish to own a home but had constrained budgets.

The first project was an 1800 sq ft property at KasbaPeth, initially they faced lot of hurdles in completing the project. Despite receiving rave reviews and a loss in their first project itself they continued to pursue their endeavor strappingly. It was Mr. Ashok Agarwal, who encouraged continuing the journey by considering the money lost as a fee to gain knowledge. And that led to the emergence of Maple Shelters with a robust energy among the other developers.

Family Run venture

Aura Country, Pune

Maple Shelters is a family business jointly run by Mr. Ashok Agarwal and his three sons, namely Sachin, Navin and Sharad. Mr. Ashok Agarwal looks after the group’s finances and rest of the management roles are handled by the three brothers. “I head the legal expert position dealing with land acquisitions while Navin, a civil engineer, is the technical brain who tackles cost-efficiency and many other aspects. He brings to the group his deep understanding of the technical aspects of construction, and has been instrumental in changing the company's operational style from traditional to modern. Sharad, the youngest, is the sales expert and has a natural flair for customer relations,” shares Mr. Sachin. 

Affordable Housing Policy

Aura Country, Pune

“The goal of Maple shelters is to provide a house at a very moderate price; this in turn led to the rise of AaplaGhar initiative which was launched in 2013 to address the housing needs of countless families who wish to own a home at constrained budgets,” laments Mr. Sachin. The affordable housing sector is clearly in need of supply amplification. Most housing developers in India continue to focus on homes for the high to mid-income segment population. This has resulted in a significant gap between the demand and supply of affordable homes. Maple Shelters aims to narrow this gap with a single-minded focus on quality affordable homes. Pune has been the launch-pad for our AaplaGhar initiative.

After the economic downturn set in, many developers began focusing on affordable housing. However, it was merely an opportunistic move in most cases, and not a sign or increasing awareness or dedication to the cause of providing homes to a large number of buyers who could not afford their previous offerings. Such fluctuations in market orientation will always happen, because developers tend to create more supply where they see demand at any given time.

Elements of Business

In order to succeed in any sector one must try to lay down a new path to reach the heights of prosperity. Success in the affordable housing segment comes only from an unswerving vision and determination not to deviate from this vision. The objective must certainly not be to create as many brittle, uninspiring 'pigeon-hole' units as possible - we have already seen enough of those in areas like Navi Mumbai and even in Pune. The objective must be to offer the best possible spaces at the lowest possible rates, without compromising on the important aspects that go into making a house a home.

Houses by Maple Shelters are designed beautifully, eco friendly and with care. All units are constructed in such a way in order to provide a house with high value to our customers with the taste of the environment.

Overview of Real Estate growth

Real Estate sector holds a major stake in the market and there’s no end for its expansion too. Low land prices are a trigger for every kind of real estate development. “Industries choose to buy land in areas with lower land costs, and this creates demand for housing, which further triggers demand for retail.  Most of the developers buy land at low prices to earn a profit but our goal is different. We buy land to make affordable housing to bring about a change in the housing sector. Therefore it depends on the agenda of the developer whether to earn profit or provide a shelter to people. Our agenda is to only develop affordable housing in such areas, regardless of what potential these locations offer for higher-priced homes”, explains Mr. Sachin.

  “Infrastructure has historically been a major pain point for Pune’s real estate market. It has simply not kept pace with the city's growth, both in the established areas as well as the emerging areas. However, the new Development Plan for the city indicates that a much more progressive approach can now be expected. Also, the new government at the centre is unequivocally focused on infrastructure, and determined to replicate the immensely successful Gujarat model all across the country. We are very possibly looking at much better times on the infrastructure front in the future”, shares Mr Sachin.

Milestone Projects

“Since we deal with housing sector every project to us was a milestone, but the AaplaGhar project at Chakan, PCMC was definitely a game-changer to us. Even though we have a number of affordable housing projects in other areas as well, it was the Chakan project which brought a drastic change to our initiative and also created an image among others”, says proudly Mr. Sachin.

Future Prospects

In the next 10 years Maple shelters are determined to continue their journey by providing affordable houses to all the classes of the community. “Everybody today, young or old, wants to live in comfortable, well-appointed and safe homes in projects which provide enough common amenities to make live enjoyable and wholesome. It always is our constant endeavor to provide such homes at rates which even the less financially fortunate can afford”, concludes Mr. Sachin.