Integrated modern housing company, Tabarak Developments, has shifted its focus to finalising its current projects, during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and is actually in the process of delivery, said Chairperson Ali Shorbani.
“As such we have worked on fine tuning operational aspects of development to ensure continued performance within a new reality of COVID 19,” Shorbani said, “This has been and will continue to be our focus over the year.”
He added, ”While we have focused or incorporated new methods of working using technologies that were available to us, our current focus is on seeing what new trends are available in construction that will be facilitated through technology.
Shorbani elaborated that, with the changes demanded by the global pandemic, contractual agreements and e-commerce solutions also need to be considered in this new age.
This would come in addition to a consideration to remote viewing facilities and communication as integrated aspects of the sales function. He noted that it is nearly impossible to list the immense number of variables and changes that the post-COVID-19 era will bring.
Shorbani further noted that his company has launched new offers with payment facilities of up to eight years, instead of the previous six years. These provide high discount rates on cash payments, or facilitate the payment of instalments, which can contribute to raising the company’s liquidity.
He disclosed that the offers and facilitated payment plans Tabarak provides on its part can boost long-term sales, by making them affordable. The reality remains, however, that this cannot be a long term solution.
There will be pressure to resolve this issue through alternative scenarios, as a result of actual demand against affordability. As such, Shorbani notes, it will become an issue that will take priority in finding a resolution.
“We have revised our targets with the beginning of COVID-19 to reflect market realities more sensibly,” he said, “Reports on how the market will develop range from very optimistic to frankly depressing.”
He added that, only recently, a McKinsey report noted that recovery will not take place before 2025.
“However, experiencing the COVID-19 lockdown and isolation has given us a better view on the customers’ needs in terms of services and the necessity for them to be within the closest proximity to the client inside the compound,” Shorbani said, “In proportion to the increase in the tendency to work from home, there will be a growing demand on home offices, and extra spaces for indoor workouts or home gyms.”
He highlighted that the company’s Capital East and 90 Avenue projects in New Cairo have been developed based on state-of-the-art technological solutions. This includes smart homes, with the solutions that are being discussed today available and marketed on different platforms.
Shorbani added, “We are more concerned about what solutions will be needed tomorrow.”
He believes that one of the most significant potential changes following the global pandemic is the impact of remote working on how people choose where they want to live.
Originally, close proximity to work and family defined those choices, with areas in Cairo or its suburbs ensuring that customers are in close proximity to work opportunities, he pointed out. With the rise of remote working and the expectation that more businesses will opt for this, it is highly likely that we should expect a change in buying habits.
To begin with, empty nesters and younger single customers will opt more for quality of life choices defined by living in remoter areas outside of Cairo.
“For us, this has meant upgrading our current project, Fantasia, to first home requirements, and improved technology infrastructure allowing smart home additions,” Shorbani said.
He added that this has meant shifting the priority in this project to include alterations to layout and facilities to fulfil the requirements of day-to-day living.
