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Inside Unreal Estate: A Journey through India's Most Controversial Sector
A candid tell-all tale of India’s most debated sectorStarting off as a trainee engineer, Sushil Kumar Sayal was determined to be a success in real estate, at a time when it was viewed as an unscrupulous profession. He has since worked with companies like Mahindra Gesco, DLF and Alpha G, and has played a significant role in establishing the Real Estate Asset Management (REAM) model in the country. In his fast-paced memoir are many anecdotes of dodgy builders, maverick investors and corrupt bureaucrats..
Kindle Edition
Published February 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 2, 2016
Single reason to read it is its by MD and CEO by Bharti Realty
Interesting read.. another interesting story of rags to riches.. how sheer hard work and education can make a big difference. Below are few interesting points
1) single imp. message is there are companies and people who have adopted ethical practices In Indian real estate and emerged successful.. How innovation and focus on customer needs helped to earn both profits and reputation...
2) Interesting insights on how it is difficult to succeed in developing Malls..out of 300 malls in India only some 20 odd are making profits.. I guess its also because rental yields have fallen steeply and there is no capital appreciation. competition from E-commerce is making things worse...
3) Emergence of ethical organized corporate in Indian real estate is only a matter of time......
4) Most interesting part was how Alpha G Corp which started with investment of 15-20crs grew ultimately sold at 1,600crs valuation to Blackstone.. [another group company with valuation at 500crs was merged during 2007].. It was initially planned as asset light business model wherein company will not buy land but will charge only development fees.
5) high circle rates have thrown many markets into no freeze..
6) According to real estate consultants, only double-income families can afford to buy a decent-sized flat (say, a 2 BHK flat with 1,000 sq ft of super built-up area) in India’s top eight cities, except Mumbai. [Except mumbai is most imp. which means in Mumbai even double income couple struggle to afford a decent flat]
7) On DLF: Many people were quick to jump ship and join DLF. But I had my reservations. Rajiv Singh was the sole coordinator in-charge of the company’s transformation; but when you spoke to others in the organization they didn’t have a clue about what was happening. In DLF’s case, I felt the vision was good but the hierarchy had not bought Rajiv Singh’s vision 100 per cent. This was bound to cause some discordance and friction. I felt uncomfortable.
8) Talked about high ethical practices of GESCO [company which was spin off from Great eastern shipping]. This company because of a threat of a takeover was merged with Mahindra Group of real estate division. After merger because of bureaucracy of big organization he left the company.
Negatives:
9) Bureaucracy of big organizations: But the cultures of the two groups were very different. At that time, the practice in the Mahindra companies was to set up committees. In the Great Eastern Shipping Company, there was 100 per cent delegation of power and very little bureaucracy. We used to discuss the projects with Sheth directly and then go ahead with the work. In the Mahindra group, there were several layers of bureaucracy that each proposal had to pass through; this took a lot of time and a whole lot of proposals died along the way.
10) showed how in Karnal they were successful in acquiring land directly from farmers without any government backing.. [> 200-300 acres of land]
11) Malls: Only for deep pocket players. Need to bear losses for 3-5 years...capital block.. cannot sell individual shops to various players, then it becomes difficult to provide experience to customers.
12) Difficult to be a national player: Real estate, at the end of the day, is a regional business. This is because each state controls its land and therefore, the laws vary from place to place. And each city has its own market dynamics. So it is difficult to become a pan-India player.
13) real estate was not a business of hierarchy— it required entrepreneurship. That’s why large business houses had failed to make it big in this sector.
14) If a conventional gated community is selling for Rs. 5,000 a square foot, making it smart would raise its costs by not more than 5 per cent.
15) low cost housing will work only if land bought 30-40Km from city center and high quality is provided rather than cutting corners...
1) Most irritating part of the book was repeated reproduction from news items.. large part of newspaper reports were repeated....
2) couple of chapters author goes all around different topics.. some time he shift to 2014 and then switch back to 2006 which creates confusion...
But anyhow its one of the few books available on Indian real estate and at quite a few places there are many interesting bits of information available....
Interesting read.. another interesting story of rags to riches.. how sheer hard work and education can make a big difference. Below are few interesting points
1) single imp. message is there are companies and people who have adopted ethical practices In Indian real estate and emerged successful.. How innovation and focus on customer needs helped to earn both profits and reputation...
2) Interesting insights on how it is difficult to succeed in developing Malls..out of 300 malls in India only some 20 odd are making profits.. I guess its also because rental yields have fallen steeply and there is no capital appreciation. competition from E-commerce is making things worse...
3) Emergence of ethical organized corporate in Indian real estate is only a matter of time......
4) Most interesting part was how Alpha G Corp which started with investment of 15-20crs grew ultimately sold at 1,600crs valuation to Blackstone.. [another group company with valuation at 500crs was merged during 2007].. It was initially planned as asset light business model wherein company will not buy land but will charge only development fees.
5) high circle rates have thrown many markets into no freeze..
6) According to real estate consultants, only double-income families can afford to buy a decent-sized flat (say, a 2 BHK flat with 1,000 sq ft of super built-up area) in India’s top eight cities, except Mumbai. [Except mumbai is most imp. which means in Mumbai even double income couple struggle to afford a decent flat]
7) On DLF: Many people were quick to jump ship and join DLF. But I had my reservations. Rajiv Singh was the sole coordinator in-charge of the company’s transformation; but when you spoke to others in the organization they didn’t have a clue about what was happening. In DLF’s case, I felt the vision was good but the hierarchy had not bought Rajiv Singh’s vision 100 per cent. This was bound to cause some discordance and friction. I felt uncomfortable.
8) Talked about high ethical practices of GESCO [company which was spin off from Great eastern shipping]. This company because of a threat of a takeover was merged with Mahindra Group of real estate division. After merger because of bureaucracy of big organization he left the company.
Negatives:
9) Bureaucracy of big organizations: But the cultures of the two groups were very different. At that time, the practice in the Mahindra companies was to set up committees. In the Great Eastern Shipping Company, there was 100 per cent delegation of power and very little bureaucracy. We used to discuss the projects with Sheth directly and then go ahead with the work. In the Mahindra group, there were several layers of bureaucracy that each proposal had to pass through; this took a lot of time and a whole lot of proposals died along the way.
10) showed how in Karnal they were successful in acquiring land directly from farmers without any government backing.. [> 200-300 acres of land]
11) Malls: Only for deep pocket players. Need to bear losses for 3-5 years...capital block.. cannot sell individual shops to various players, then it becomes difficult to provide experience to customers.
12) Difficult to be a national player: Real estate, at the end of the day, is a regional business. This is because each state controls its land and therefore, the laws vary from place to place. And each city has its own market dynamics. So it is difficult to become a pan-India player.
13) real estate was not a business of hierarchy— it required entrepreneurship. That’s why large business houses had failed to make it big in this sector.
14) If a conventional gated community is selling for Rs. 5,000 a square foot, making it smart would raise its costs by not more than 5 per cent.
15) low cost housing will work only if land bought 30-40Km from city center and high quality is provided rather than cutting corners...
1) Most irritating part of the book was repeated reproduction from news items.. large part of newspaper reports were repeated....
2) couple of chapters author goes all around different topics.. some time he shift to 2014 and then switch back to 2006 which creates confusion...
But anyhow its one of the few books available on Indian real estate and at quite a few places there are many interesting bits of information available....
May 12, 2021
The autobiographical narrative of the book makes it really interesting and while the author could have given more insight, the book still gives a nice overview of India's real estate sector.
As someone who wrote about real estate as a reporter, I would say the author leaves out most of the murky details of the sector to avoid conflict. While he exhorts his efforts of conducting business honestly, the exception doesn't represent the majority of the industry.
Despite repeated reforms, the sector continues to be wedded to black money. As a result, buying a home in cities continues to be out of reach for most of the middle class. The author strays clear of those questions. But still, considering the dearth of books on Indian real estate, this book is worth picking.
As someone who wrote about real estate as a reporter, I would say the author leaves out most of the murky details of the sector to avoid conflict. While he exhorts his efforts of conducting business honestly, the exception doesn't represent the majority of the industry.
Despite repeated reforms, the sector continues to be wedded to black money. As a result, buying a home in cities continues to be out of reach for most of the middle class. The author strays clear of those questions. But still, considering the dearth of books on Indian real estate, this book is worth picking.
January 6, 2017
Going by the name of the book ...I expected a detailed description of the sector ....it's evolution through the past decades and future outlook ...the author does address some of these issues but not in great detail....I also found that the focus is primarily on North India/Gujrat market ..which can't be generalised for the whole country ...and would have loved to understand the market conditions in other parts of the country and author perspective on the same.
I also liked the way author throughout the book focuses on his professional journey and his growth within various organisations....and in the process explaining the real estate sector.
I also liked the way author throughout the book focuses on his professional journey and his growth within various organisations....and in the process explaining the real estate sector.
March 24, 2025
A nice weekend read that walks us through the life of Sushil Kumar Sayal, who has led large real estate construction companies building office spaces, mall and residential complexes. He started his career as in construction as an intern in Delhi out of desperation and learnt the ropes of the business fairly quickly, climbing up the sysyphean corporate ladder.
Real Estate industry is riddled with bad actors with builders vanishing overnight. Sushil realised this early on and focused on conducting business ethically, respecting the deadlines and building goodwill with clients & creditors. When there is a lot of distrust in the system, people are willing to pay a premium for competence and trustworthiness for their peace of mind.
Real Estate industry is riddled with bad actors with builders vanishing overnight. Sushil realised this early on and focused on conducting business ethically, respecting the deadlines and building goodwill with clients & creditors. When there is a lot of distrust in the system, people are willing to pay a premium for competence and trustworthiness for their peace of mind.
June 16, 2020
The author, through his memoir, reveals how real estate changed in the country over the years especially in North India. He recounts his run-ins with bureaucracy to raise capital and execute projects on time. Good reading for anyone uninitiated to the working of this sector of the Indian economy.
May 25, 2021
Was expecting more insights & analysis around the sector, this is a plain vanilla biography of one of the well known real estate mavericks in North India.
December 7, 2023
Well written, interesting book
April 19, 2016
Like most business auto-biographies, this book borders on the hagiographic however it does outline how a person can spend an entire career in the real estate sector w/o getting sullied, by working with brands like GESCO & Bharti. Having stayed some time in Delhi and Ahmedabad, I was familiar with Gurgaon One, Alpha and so on, so this book did help connect the dots of how this came along, and how the movers and shakers of the Indian real estate business evolved. Some nuggets
1) Quoting 'unreal' prices of 4x the internal expectation(Rs 175 vs 40/sq ft for rental/lease to Ericson to induce them to buy-yet they accepted the high rent-and quoting Rs 1500crs vs 450 crs valuation for selling stake in company to Morgan Stanley
2)7 promotions in 7 years!!-Quite a bit must have been due to hands on experience of learning masonry from the foreman
3) Getting the branch changed to civil engineering by topping in the first semester-this is done by IITians even now, albeit now it is topping in first year
4)Advice to follow large corporates for purpose of real estate investing
Overall a must read for anyone interested in the real estate sector
1) Quoting 'unreal' prices of 4x the internal expectation(Rs 175 vs 40/sq ft for rental/lease to Ericson to induce them to buy-yet they accepted the high rent-and quoting Rs 1500crs vs 450 crs valuation for selling stake in company to Morgan Stanley
2)7 promotions in 7 years!!-Quite a bit must have been due to hands on experience of learning masonry from the foreman
3) Getting the branch changed to civil engineering by topping in the first semester-this is done by IITians even now, albeit now it is topping in first year
4)Advice to follow large corporates for purpose of real estate investing
Overall a must read for anyone interested in the real estate sector
October 4, 2016
This is one of the first books that i have read about the Indian Real Estate. This sector is one of the oldest but not much material is available. In this regard, i must thank the Author and would request for more books like these.
This is partly a semi-autobiographical account of the Author's journey in the Construction and Real Estate field, and describes the challenges and learnings that he faced and imbibed along the way. One point worth noting is that people can still survive and prosper by following Ethical Practices and for a long term growth, this strategy is a must. The Author has also given some superb insights and strategies for sound investment. All in all a good read. I would recommend this to everyone.
This is partly a semi-autobiographical account of the Author's journey in the Construction and Real Estate field, and describes the challenges and learnings that he faced and imbibed along the way. One point worth noting is that people can still survive and prosper by following Ethical Practices and for a long term growth, this strategy is a must. The Author has also given some superb insights and strategies for sound investment. All in all a good read. I would recommend this to everyone.
June 7, 2016
From the title, I picked up this book to know in depth of real estate in India.
This book's actually on professional journey of Mr. Sayal. You will enjoy this as It's a brisk read, and it gives a glimpse of outer layer of real estate in NCR. But we all know, going deep, all real estate businesses look ugly. Hope one day someone has courage to come out to uncover that.
This book's actually on professional journey of Mr. Sayal. You will enjoy this as It's a brisk read, and it gives a glimpse of outer layer of real estate in NCR. But we all know, going deep, all real estate businesses look ugly. Hope one day someone has courage to come out to uncover that.
May 3, 2016
Waste of time. The details are too scanty - I guess it goes with the sector; no matter how clean one may try to be, there seem to always be things one cannot talk about.
The bit on GE Shipping, GESCO were interesting.
The bit on GE Shipping, GESCO were interesting.
Read
July 3, 2016Hi
Read
November 24, 2016Good idea about the grey areas of this "largely unfathomable but financially-highly important" industry
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2017
one look at the title & the cover of the book and you might think that this is a book which reveals some dark secrets or inside working of the Indian real estate industry. it is no where close to it.
it is the story of the author , that's it , nothing more nothing less. about his childhood to his college to his first job to his current one.
the only thing the author boast about is how he has managed his career being ethical.
rest of the book is about projects he completed and what time.
full marks to the author for the career but the book is highly disappointing.
don't waste your money on this one.
it is the story of the author , that's it , nothing more nothing less. about his childhood to his college to his first job to his current one.
the only thing the author boast about is how he has managed his career being ethical.
rest of the book is about projects he completed and what time.
full marks to the author for the career but the book is highly disappointing.
don't waste your money on this one.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews