Jewellery sales raked up huge volumes during the festive season in the local Sarafa market here with the zeal of largely small and medium buyers who collectively contributed to a positive sentiment in the market.
Most High Networth Individuals (HNIs), however, kept away from the usual buyer frenzy during the Diwali season this time round, jewellers informed.
The biggest respite for the gold jewellery buyers was an unexpected lowering of the gold price by almost Rs800 to 1,000 on Dhanteras in the city compared to the price trend just a week before Dhanteras which refused to climb down below Rs32,000 per 10 gm helping jewellery sales pick up volumes.
“The buyers this time round were mostly small and medium spenders in the market who provided the positive sentiment to the market,” president of Raipur Sarafa Association Harakh Malu told The Pioneer.
He said that buyer profile this time did not dampen the sentiment of jewellers as festivals always help generate sufficient business.
However, bullion trade continued to be at the bottom of the market as high import prices of gold for many months have made it impossible for the stockists to buy sufficient gold, he said.
This apart, the city’s automobile and real estate business boomed during the Diwali season with no letting up among the buying frenzy of the buyers for the entire last week.
A host of discounts on housing schemes and passenger car sales bought unprecedented number of buyers to the showrooms and sales offices of real estate firms.
Most consumers perform their ‘Griha Pravesh’ for new homes during the Dussehra and Diwali season which means the flats and bungalows needed to be ready atleast three months before the festive season, informed Dharampal Singh a real estate broker.
He said that builders plan out their sales schedule during the festive season to sell maximum number of units as most customers invariably wait for an auspicious occasion to do even their bookings, he said.
An interesting aspect of Raipur city is that a large segment of passengers car buyers over the years had been from the rural areas who buy SUVs and high end cars, stated Auto market analyst Pawan Kumar Singh.
The automobile sales peak after monsoons as rural families have lot of cash to spend and they no longer just buy any brand and look for specific brand in their mind to get to the showroom and ask for the car or the SUV. Thanks to advertisements in the media, he said.
“The other plus for the Raipurians is that the city’s changing landscape and gradually evolving metro culture is helping them find avenues to spend their cash now,” Singh added.