'The rich don’t follow trends': Real estate advisor’s 5 rules to avoid risky property buys

Not every hot property trend in India is worth your money and knowing how to tell the difference could protect your next big real estate decision.

Real estate advisor Aishwarya Shri Kapoor is urging investors and homebuyers to stop chasing trends and start filtering them. She shared a 5-point checklist designed to separate actual opportunities from marketing noise.

Her first filter: policy backing. “If a ‘green zone’ project isn’t backed by zoning policy or infra in the Union Budget, it’s a brochure dream, not a market move,” she warned. According to her, a trend’s validity comes down to Govt Commitment + Regulatory Backing.

Second, she advises tracking capital flow. “Trends backed by REITs, NBFCs, or fund houses—real. Trends hyped only by influencers or broker networks—avoid,” Kapoor said.

If institutional money isn’t entering, the long-term play doesn’t exist.

Third is tenant demand. “You’re not buying steel and concrete. You’re buying future rent demand,” she explained. No corporate interest, she added, means no footfall, and no capital appreciation.

Her metric: Rent CAGR = Trend Value.

Kapoor’s fourth checkpoint is exit liquidity. “New corridors may look promising, but if resale buyers aren’t showing interest or banks won’t lend—it’s dead weight,” she said.

An exit premium only exists “if liquidity exists.”

Finally, she flags developer risk. “A great location can’t save you from a builder who defaults or delays,” Kapoor noted. Projects dominated by one or two undercapitalized developers carry brand concentration risk.

Her formula: Trend Risk = Brand Concentration ÷ Execution Record.

“The rich don’t follow trends. They filter them—ruthlessly. Because in real estate, FOMO is paid for with 5 years of locked-up capital,” she says.