Tougher Than Concrete: Survival Stories from India’s Real Estate SME Sector
“Designing buildings is hard. Surviving as a real estate SME? Even harder.”
In the towering skyline of India’s urban ambition, it’s not just concrete and cranes that shape our cities – it’s the architects, project management consultants (PMCs), land surveyors, interior specialists and thousands of micro-enterprises quietly powering the real estate value chain. These SMEs don’t make headlines, but they make the buildings that do.
Yet for all their foundational value, the sector’s small players are under siege.
India’s real estate ecosystem has undergone a seismic shift in the last decade. From the RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) Act to digital taxation, from pricing wars driven by aggregator platforms to rising client expectations, SMEs in this space are having to reinvent just to stay relevant.
So what does survival and growth look like in this landscape? We spoke to industry insiders, real estate entrepreneurs and specialists to find out.
Post-RERA: Reinvention or Retreat?
When RERA came into effect, it was hailed as a consumer-friendly reform. For real estate SMEs, however, it brought compliance challenges, contract delays and shrinking margins.
“Earlier, we could start working based on verbal commitments or advances. Now, every project has to be locked under a formal contract which sounds right actually, but slows down execution,” shares Suhas Pednekar, founder of a PMC firm in Pune.
RERA has also raised the bar for accountability. Architects and PMCs are now expected to maintain detailed documentation, regular site audits and liability insurances, all of which come at a cost.
Still, some see this as a necessary filter.
“The ones who didn’t adapt either exited or were absorbed by larger firms. What we’re left with is a more serious, more structured SME pool,” observes Deepa Khurana, an independent realty compliance consultant.
Digitization: Compliance Burden or Business Edge?
Gone are the days when floor plans were drawn by hand and invoices were handwritten. Today’s real estate SMEs are expected to upload project documents, manage GST filings, navigate TDS complexities and maintain digital site logs.
The transition has been uneven. While newer firms embrace tools like BIM (Building Information Modeling) and real-time project trackers, many traditional firms are still playing catch-up.
For some, digitization has created differentiation.
“We developed a client dashboard where they can track project progress, material costs and site updates,” says Shruti Iyer, co-founder of a PMC in Bengaluru. “It’s helped us retain clients even in lean periods since they trust our transparency.”
But there’s a caveat: the tech shift is only as effective as the people implementing it. Many SMEs struggle to find staff trained in these digital tools, and onboarding talent that understands both construction and compliance remains a bottleneck.
Why Niche Is the New Moat
With larger players entering mid-market segments and aggressive aggregator platforms pushing down commissions, being everything to everyone is no longer a viable strategy.
Instead, smart SMEs are carving out niches.
Whether it’s specializing in green-certified buildings, adaptive reuse of heritage properties, luxury interiors for NRIs, or town planning in tier-2 cities, SMEs that go deep instead of wide are finding resilience and premium pricing.
Take Rohit Patel, who runs a small firm focused solely on sustainable architecture in Ahmedabad.
“We don’t pitch to every developer. But when someone wants IGBC certification and lifecycle energy planning, we’re among the top names that come up. That’s the moat – not size, but specificity.”
Human Capital: The Underrated Differentiator
Across conversations, one theme stood out. Survival isn’t just about tech or compliance, but about people.
Retaining skilled draughtsmen, site engineers and finance managers has become harder as corporate players lure them with higher pay. SMEs are responding by building culture over compensation.
“We offer profit-sharing on projects. If the client gives a bonus for on-time delivery, my entire team benefits,” says Alok Deshmukh, who runs a land surveying outfit in Nashik.
Soft skills are equally crucial. With clients becoming more demanding and digitally savvy, the ability to explain timelines, defend costs and maintain trust is now part of the SME skill set.
What Comes Next?
India’s real estate sector is stabilizing, but not necessarily simplifying. Regulatory vigilance, formalization and client empowerment will only grow.
Yet in this churn lies opportunity.
As developers seek faster, smarter execution partners and consumers demand quality with accountability, the SMEs who can prove trust, transparency and technical agility will not just survive, they will lead.
And as history shows, the buildings that last are not always the tallest. They’re the best built.