Anil Jindal, group chairman, SRS spoke at length with Our correspondent about the company's plans and the outlook of the wider real estate market. Excerpts of the interview:

Why so much focus on Faridabad?
Faridabad is well connected to NCR. Land is still available. Plots are still selling in the resale. The fact that projects in Faridabad are undervalued makes it a sought-after destination. And we diversified into real estate from Faridabad in year 2000. Then there was a need of multiplexes, group housing projects, and shopping malls. There was a huge demand and very less supply. Now that projects are shaping up, we will see this gap reducing.

A year back, HUDA stopped registration of new properties. What was the controversy all about?
Several unauthorised colonies mushroomed in Faridabad. The apartments and floors were sold on a single plot. So HUDA stopped registering different properties on the same plot.

What is market scenario of Faridabad?
Although, there are no speculators in the market, Faridabad has more investors. And they hold on to the property for long. This delays the habitation in a project even after its completion.

Are speculators different from investors? Many times investors play the role of speculators.
Look, I categorise investors in three categories: short-term, mid-term, and long-term investors. The mid-term investors have a holding capacity of one year to one and half years while long-term investors can hold more than 1.5 and up to 2.5 years. Both of these conditions are beneficial for realty market of the region, as it creates liquidity in the initial stages of the project. But, short-term investors are a cause of worry for the projects as well as habitation. End-users come at last, when the project nears completion.