Alibag, a small coastal town in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, is located about 96 km south of Mumbai. Steeped in colonial history, it is a quaint little town replete with sandy beaches, clean unpolluted air, and plenty of forts and temples. Till the few years ago the place was popular just as a weekend getaway. No more. Now the crème de le crème of Mumbai – HNIs, Cricketers, Filmstars, Industrialists and Corporates are clamouring for an abode there.
And the credit must go to one man – Samir A Nerurkar. For him Alibag was love at first sight when he went there first time with his parents. A look at the beauty of the place, and Samir got his calling. A first generation entrepreneur almost two and half decades back he started his entrepreneurial journey with just Rs 25,000, given by his mother. With a strong vision, faith in his own conviction and a dream to create something unique, something beautiful, something which touches a large number of people’s life, Samir started from scratch. His dream mission took the shape of a company – The Samira Group. The first victims of his charm, as usual, were his close friends and relatives. But as the popular saying goes – Kaarvan Banta Gaya. Today he has 90% market share in organized sector. His due diligence process and understanding of the meticulous paperwork makes Samira the ideal organization to deal with.
Well-versed with different segments of the economy and a die-hard optimist with a twinkle in his eyes Mr Samir A Nerurkar, Founder & Managing Director, Samira Habitats spoke with Krishna Kumar Mishra about his journey, future plans, Covid, and its impact in detail.
You have been promoting The Alibag Life, since many years. Can you please elaborate what that life is?
Alibag is no longer simply a weekend getaway and second home for the rich and famous from the commercial capital of the country. Rather it is becoming the preferred first home paradise for many Mumbaikars, especially after the pandemic. The past two years brought people face to face with how important it is to build a home and a life away from the pollution and constraints of the city. Our Alibag homes are sprawling and lavish with their open spaces, outdoors, pools and gardens. This is something one cannot think of even in the most expensive or elite areas in Mumbai.
A lot of disruptions happened in the entire segment of economy in these critical times.
If you are referring to pandemic then yes, it has set the entire world in frenzy and people grappled with most unexpected. The largest of the business areas shut shop and started a new culture called WFH – work from home. This was something unheard of. But it shook the very foundation of how we used to function. With WFH people experimented with everything – their daily schedule, the work hours, and the balance between work and home. The industrialists, celebrities, artists, and other HNI’s had the luxury to move to their second homes for peace and space. Their second homes have become first homes. And it gave a new idea to those who could afford a second home but still didn’t possess. Secondly, now a large segment is looking at life in serenity. And Samira Habitats is helping them embrace Alibag life and making this shift effortlessly.
But why one should chose Alibag? Still it seems a faraway place.
There are several benefits to owning a house in Alibaug. One of the biggest pluses is that it is only nine nautical miles from Mumbai’s Gateway. A breezy ferry ride or speedboat keeps you so conveniently connected to business or pleasure in the city. If you don’t own a speed boat, you can always hire one to take you to Alibaug. Now it is just one hour by sea route from Mumbai and there’s freedom from any traffic snarls and jams yet closer to home. So what suddenly made Alibag lucrative is the infrastructure development like multimodal corridor from Virar to Alibag, Trans harbour sealink, and RORO round the year.
Your market share in the area has been continuously increasing. What is the secret?
For us, Alibag is not a mere sales pitch or project; it is Home. With the largest share in the organized land bank, we have dealt in over 1000 acres of land deals in Alibag. Since 1995, we have facilitated more than 2000 satisfied customers into embracing The Alibag Life. Samira ensures that your Alibag journey is expertly supported, from initiation to realisation, by our solid and in-depth knowledge of land as an investment opportunity.
What is the major USP of Samira Habitats?
First I would like to tell you the economics involved. I read somewhere a report mentioning retirement homes market is expected to triple in the next three years from $1.39 billion to around $4 billion by 2026 in India. That’s a market growth of about 23.6% CAGR comparatively residential market’s CAGR was 5 %. Second-home markets grew by a whopping 89% in the last couple of years. And please don’t forget India is among top 10 price appreciating, markets internationally. Alibag recorded 10.9% capital gain, the highest in the country, beating markets like Goa, Lonavala, etc.
What are your future plans that you wish to share with our readers?
We are for an all-round growth of the place. So we indulge in various fields. Recently we celebrated one of the most triumphant chapters in cricketing history; the Champions of Champions trophy victory. You know it was steered by our own Alibagkar, Ravi Shastri. Ravi is one of the earliest Mumbai dwellers, to make Alibag his first address. People who settled in Alibaug are now inspiring others to follow suit. Now attracting angel investors to fund a project in Alibaug has become easier. We are working on a lot of plans and let me say loudly that fund is not at all an issue.
