Looking to buy a home? Well, I’m sure that you have been advised to go with the biggest builders in order to minimize risks. While that is a safe strategy, you could be losing out on unique opportunities from small developers who may not be as famous.

Today, top developers are cornering the real estate market leaving smaller firms out in the cold. It helps that many home buyers believe that these big brands are simply too big to fail. While that is debatable, experts say small developers do have their own strengths, key among them being location. “There are several neighborhoods where smaller developers have a better location to offer. Larger developers may not be interested in these areas because the scale of project is not big enough for them. But that does not really reduce the importance or attractiveness of the location”, says Ashutosh Limaye, Head – Research & REIS, JLL India.

That means a home buyer looking at prime areas like Bandra or Juhu is more likely to find a good fit with smaller players who operate projects of anywhere between 30- 100 units. The small scale of operations is an added advantage as it limits overheads including construction and marketing costs which industry figures say can be 10-12% less than that of a bigger player. Sandeep Ahuja, CEO of Richa Realtors says this can lead to significant price advantages for home buyers as smaller players have more room to maneuver. “A larger developer works on say a 30% margin requirement and that doesn’t change, irrespective of market conditions. But we are ok with changing our margins. We are typically 20% cheaper than the largest developers with a similar product”. Realtors NDTV spoke to say this price differential is being seen across key markets such as Bandra East, Malad East, Goregaon West and Chembur where big-name projects from Rustomjee, The Omkar Group, Kalpataru and Godrej Properties face competition from smaller developers in the same area.

While both small and big builders offer subvention, buyback and assured return schemes, smaller developers are also considered more flexible. “Time and again, smaller developers have displayed a willingness to offer more attractive financial schemes, incentives and discounts unlike larger builders who have a one-size-fits-all approach. Today, a homebuyer can sit down at the table with a small developer and negotiate a very attractive deal on their home”, says Paresh Karia, Founder of easy2ownestate.com.

Additionally, projects by small developers can be customised to an extent not available in larger, more standardised offerings by bigger developers. And while they are from smaller players, these projects share the same price appreciation advantages as the bigger projects.

While smaller developers do have their advantages, homebuyers are urged to do their research and check a developer’s reputation and track record before making their final choice. It is always best to go in for ready-built projects or those nearing completion to minimise the risk of delays. Once that checks out, then there is no reason why potential home buyers cannot invest with smaller developers.

Nikhil Narayan Sivadas, Assistant Editor, NDTV