This is how Consumer Demand Fused Wellness with Real Estate

The pressures of modern-day living have brought along with certain unfortunate trends among the population which range from various forms of pollution, increased stress and a life which is under constant pressure. As our daily lives become more hectic, the importance of investing or living in a home that gives positivity is slowly becoming a priority for Indian consumers. Working professionals, students, and families are now looking for homes that provide positivity and promotes an overall healthy living. While looking for a home, along with looking for basic amenities like spacious rooms, furnishing, constant supply of water and electricity, the focus is slowly shifting to ensuring clean air and water quality, the absence of harmful environmental factors, etc.

The concept of wellness in real estate has taken a leap in the Indian market with developers becoming more conscious about how they can contribute to the overall concept of wellness for the residents in their apartments. Today, the global wellness real estate market is a multi-billion-dollar industry with an estimated size of $134 billion. This means that buildings are now being designed and created to support holistic health for the residents by incorporating elements like lighting and fresh air.

A study done by Tata Housing has shown that around 88% of the Indian consumers are interested in wellness-injected properties. Around 69% of them consider clean water & air and an overall healthy atmosphere as very important. This means that wellness in real estate is a nascent industry but it also puts people’s wellness at the centre of conception, design, creation, and development of the homes. These range from enhanced water, lighting, indoor air quality, fitness centres & spas, healthy food restaurants, open studio yoga classes, meditation grounds, aromatic herbal plants and the presence of full-time wellness professionals. Some houses, for example, boast of advanced air, water purification systems, reflexology based pathways, aromatherapy dispensers, among others.

While for some consumers, proper air and water quality, the absence of noise pollution, restful sleep and access to green space or wellness amenities are key priorities, for others the measure of wellness can also be a sense of community.

Today, technology is also actively aiding this concept of wellness where it not only reduces the environmental damage through better monitoring of elements like water and lighting but also brings in a sense of deeper connection. There is enormous potential in wellness lifestyle real estate for differentiation based on market needs, target audiences and unique site characteristics.

It would be a misconception to assume that wellness in the real estate market is something that is targeted at the luxury or high-end segment. There is increasing demand coming from the middle-income consumers who are looking for neighbourhoods and homes which support a healthy lifestyle. In fact, a report by the Global Wellness Institute says, 86% of Indians are ready to pay more for wellness-infused homes. In the lower income housing segment, it is also becoming a critical requirement especially in the area of public health. 

Wellness is not just about physical health anymore; it is multi-dimensional, encompassing the physical, social, mental, emotional, spiritual and other dimensions of ourselves. The concept of wellness homes is now slowly growing in India and is expected to be at the centre of all development projects in the future. Wellness in real estate has now become the need of the hour and it’ll be important for companies who to put people’s health at the centre of their design in order to become the next frontiers in the residential real estate market.

The author of this article is Ismail Khan, Senior Vice President - Business, Nestaway Technologies Pvt. Ltd.