bangalore after almost a year of lull due to the economic downturn the real estate sector in the countrys it capital is slowly picking up and is all set to focus on the middle and upper middle segments where it envisages huge potentialcustomising their offerings builders are keen to capture these segments which are witnessing increasing demandfor mantri developers pvt ltd the recession for all practical purposes is over as far as the real estate sector in the city is concernedthe bangaloreheadquartered group which has been in the business for over 10 years admitted that there was slackening in demand from october 2008 to 2009 prices had hit rock bottom and customers were holding back anticipating further slash in ratesbut postapril there has been a surge in sales in the industry as customers realised that there would be no further decrease in prices an official of the firm said on condition of anonymitythe firm which is looking at the upper middle class and highend segments sees a rise in demand in both more so in the upper middle categoryhowever despite the slowdown demand never slackened in the highend segment the official saidthe firms two ongoing projects one in the highend ranging from rs one crore to rs 10 crore and two in the upper middle class segments priced at rs 3570 lakh will be completed in another six to eight monthsthanks to the slowdown it is the genuine buyer who is coming forward now instead of the investor these buyers want the reassurance of reputed brands which are cash flow positive and the pace of progress is visible the official saidthe firm which has also taken up projects in chennai and hyderabad rates the bangalore market as the best compared to hyderabad where is it is reasonably good and chennai where it is picking upshahwar pasha assistant general manager business development prestige group echoed similar sentiments about a resurgence in the market it is the enduser the actual buyer who is ready to buy nowthe group which was earlier targeting only the luxury market rs 75 lakh rs six crore is now seriously looking at the middle and upper middle segment as enquiries are for affordable homespasha who feels the demand for the highend is a little less hopes the market will be vibrant by the middle of next yearexpressing a slightly different view pradeep jacob marketing manager confident group said demand for apartments has bottomed out in the last nine months the demand for apartments is flat nowthe four yearold group he says has been successful because they have focused on plots townships and lowbudget rs 1720 lakh and middle category flats rs 3040 lakhour low budget and middle segment flats sales have been good because they are within a 10 km radius of it companies jacob saidthe group which has catered to a diversified segment including the highend in the form of villas says it has not witnessed any decrease in demand for villassuresh goel who handles marketing