Burglar alarm systems, video surveillance and door phones, access control, wall mount air sensors, motion detectors, two-way key fobs, Wi-Fi camera, wireless external siren and wristband transmitters are some of the ultra-smart devices that are in demand with increasingly affluent Indians.
"While the total security market is growing at the rate of 25-26 per cent, the real estate and residential security market is almost double at almost 52 per cent annually," Honeywell director (Security) South Asia Deepak Thakur said.
The real estate security market is worth Rs 1,200 crore and the security gadgets industry is expecting to piggy back on this growth, Thakur said.
Manufacturers unveiled nearly 25 new products at a security fair - IFSEC India-2008 - that underlines the demand for home security and automation devices.
"Thirty per cent of the stalls at this security fair, which was thronged by real estate developers and individual end users, featured security and home automation devices," IFSEC India-2008 Project coordinator Anindiya Sarangi said. The latest trend in the residential sector is surely driven by incidents, Sarangi said.
"The residential architecture was already built in such a way that it had minimum entry and exit points but with heightened security considerations we are now focusing on designs that facilitate installation of security gadgets at these places," Dubai based Indian architect Santa Datta said.
Reflecting the real estate developers and individual users concern for the safety of their homes and apartments, Moyyed Satehi, a Mumbai based architect, said, "The real estate development in the metro and two-tier cities is driving this trend.
"Customers are now increasingly placing demands for designs of fool-proof security residences and homes."
The Indian real estate market is a mix of both vertical (high rise apartments) and horizontal (single/independent villas and luxury apartments) along with mid-market and township communities, although growth in the realty segment is seen slowing lately in the face of the credit slowdown due to the global financial crisis.
