5.6 lakh stuck housing in top 7 cities
5.6 lakh housing units worth??4.51 trillion facing delays in 7 major cities: Report
Real Estate

5.6 lakh stuck housing in top 7 cities

  • 451,750 crore worth housing currently stuck in various stages of non-completion across top 7 cities
  • MMR and NCR together hold 72 per cent share of delayed projects worth Rs 349,010 crore; South cities collectively hold a mere 10 per cent overall share
  • Chennai has the least stuck stock with 8,650 units worth Rs 5,620 crore
  • Bengaluru far better off than Pune with less than half of the delayed stock of 86,700 units
 
Despite the setting up of a regulatory mechanism, countless homebuyers have been left in the lurch by their builders. Sadly, most of these stuck projects do not fall within the RERA ambit as they were launched years before it was implemented.
 
Also, with many states having diluted the Centre's original RERA rules, homebuyers have only the courts to approach - a notoriously tedious task in India.
 
Mind-numbing numbers
 
As per Anarock data, the top 7 cities currently have a total stock of 5.6 lakh delayed housing units worth a whopping Rs 451,750 crore. These units were launched either in 2013 or before that. Lakhs of buyers across top cities – particularly MMR and NCR - have been left in limbo, leading to inconceivable mental stress and financial pain.
 
Top cities like NCR and MMR collectively account for 72 per cent of the total stuck housing units across the top 7 cities worth Rs 349,010 crore – nearly 77 per cent of the total worth of the stuck projects. In comparison, the main Southern cities of Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad together account for a mere 10 per cent of the overall stuck housing units of a total worth of Rs 41,770 crore. The Southern cities have predominantly been driven by service-class end-users, leaving limited scope for developers to be unprofessional.

City

Total units delayed (launched before or during 2013)

Approx. value (in crore) of delayed units

Bengaluru

40,450

29,880

Chennai

8,650

5,620

Hyderabad

9,600

6,270

Kolkata

13,400

7,910

MMR

192,100

217,550

NCR

210,200

131,460

Pune

86,700

53,060

Total

561,100

451,750

Source: ANAROCK Research 

Interestingly, among the two major IT destinations, Bengaluru is far better off than Pune in terms of the total number of delayed/stuck projects. The Silicon Valley of India has less than half of the total delayed stock in Pune (of 86,700 units). Chennai has the least project delays during this period, with around 8,650 units worth Rs 5,620 crore.
 
Why projects got stuck
 
Besides some developers' lack of real will to complete their projects and preference for funds diversion, the tightening credit crunch has been one major factor contributing to this mounting problem. It has become a 'chicken and egg' situation – buyers have understandably stopped releasing funds to builders, and builders claim they have no funds to complete construction.
 
Also, every delayed project results in cost overruns which compound the funding crunch even further. Lack of project clearances for whatever reason also contributes to the piling up of housing stock. In the pre-RERA era, many builders launched greenfield projects without the requisite approvals in place, resulting in their projects getting stuck. 
 
As one of the possible solutions out of this mess, the government-owned NBCC has been roped in to complete some stalled projects in NCR. This is a significant move which, if applied in larger numbers, can have a real impact.
 
Moreover, even if NBCC picks up 50 per cent of overall stalled projects, the resultant construction activities would create significant employment for the EWS and LIG segments, which are also the key target segment for affordable housing.
 
Additionally, with the government-owned NBCC undertaking construction, banks' apprehensions about funding construction would ease. Most stalled projects have considerable monetisable assets in the form of land banks and FSI, which the NBCC can use to cover some of the construction costs.
 
By amending the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and treating buyers at par with banks and other creditors, the government has further safeguarded the interests of affected buyers. With this provision, even when builders opt for bankruptcy, the state authorities will intervene to safeguard homebuyers' investments.
 
Besides monitoring cash inflows of the concerned entity, the government will try and ensure that the project is completed either by the developer himself or by outsourcing its completion to a third party. However, buyers are still awaiting their final outcome of these interventions.
 
To summarise...
 
The government in power has a mammoth task to complete. Delayed projects have severely weakened faith in under-construction properties and reviving buyers' trust is a herculean task. If buyers stop purchasing under-construction properties, builders will have a far more challenging time to get funds from external sources for project construction.

About the Author: 
Anuj Puri is Chairman at Anarock Property Consultants.

451,750 crore worth housing currently stuck in various stages of non-completion across top 7 citiesMMR and NCR together hold 72 per cent share of delayed projects worth Rs 349,010 crore; South cities collectively hold a mere 10 per cent overall shareChennai has the least stuck stock with 8,650 units worth Rs 5,620 croreBengaluru far better off than Pune with less than half of the delayed stock of 86,700 units Despite the setting up of a regulatory mechanism, countless homebuyers have been left in the lurch by their builders. Sadly, most of these stuck projects do not fall within the RERA ambit as they were launched years before it was implemented. Also, with many states having diluted the Centre's original RERA rules, homebuyers have only the courts to approach - a notoriously tedious task in India. Mind-numbing numbers As per Anarock data, the top 7 cities currently have a total stock of 5.6 lakh delayed housing units worth a whopping Rs 451,750 crore. These units were launched either in 2013 or before that. Lakhs of buyers across top cities – particularly MMR and NCR - have been left in limbo, leading to inconceivable mental stress and financial pain. Top cities like NCR and MMR collectively account for 72 per cent of the total stuck housing units across the top 7 cities worth Rs 349,010 crore – nearly 77 per cent of the total worth of the stuck projects. In comparison, the main Southern cities of Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad together account for a mere 10 per cent of the overall stuck housing units of a total worth of Rs 41,770 crore. The Southern cities have predominantly been driven by service-class end-users, leaving limited scope for developers to be unprofessional. City Total units delayed (launched before or during 2013) Approx. value (in crore) of delayed units Bengaluru 40,450 29,880 Chennai 8,650 5,620 Hyderabad 9,600 6,270 Kolkata 13,400 7,910 MMR 192,100 217,550 NCR 210,200 131,460 Pune 86,700 53,060 Total 561,100 451,750 Source: ANAROCK Research Interestingly, among the two major IT destinations, Bengaluru is far better off than Pune in terms of the total number of delayed/stuck projects. The Silicon Valley of India has less than half of the total delayed stock in Pune (of 86,700 units). Chennai has the least project delays during this period, with around 8,650 units worth Rs 5,620 crore. Why projects got stuck Besides some developers' lack of real will to complete their projects and preference for funds diversion, the tightening credit crunch has been one major factor contributing to this mounting problem. It has become a 'chicken and egg' situation – buyers have understandably stopped releasing funds to builders, and builders claim they have no funds to complete construction. Also, every delayed project results in cost overruns which compound the funding crunch even further. Lack of project clearances for whatever reason also contributes to the piling up of housing stock. In the pre-RERA era, many builders launched greenfield projects without the requisite approvals in place, resulting in their projects getting stuck.  As one of the possible solutions out of this mess, the government-owned NBCC has been roped in to complete some stalled projects in NCR. This is a significant move which, if applied in larger numbers, can have a real impact. Moreover, even if NBCC picks up 50 per cent of overall stalled projects, the resultant construction activities would create significant employment for the EWS and LIG segments, which are also the key target segment for affordable housing. Additionally, with the government-owned NBCC undertaking construction, banks' apprehensions about funding construction would ease. Most stalled projects have considerable monetisable assets in the form of land banks and FSI, which the NBCC can use to cover some of the construction costs. By amending the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and treating buyers at par with banks and other creditors, the government has further safeguarded the interests of affected buyers. With this provision, even when builders opt for bankruptcy, the state authorities will intervene to safeguard homebuyers' investments. Besides monitoring cash inflows of the concerned entity, the government will try and ensure that the project is completed either by the developer himself or by outsourcing its completion to a third party. However, buyers are still awaiting their final outcome of these interventions. To summarise... The government in power has a mammoth task to complete. Delayed projects have severely weakened faith in under-construction properties and reviving buyers' trust is a herculean task. If buyers stop purchasing under-construction properties, builders will have a far more challenging time to get funds from external sources for project construction.About the Author: Anuj Puri is Chairman at Anarock Property Consultants.

Related Stories

Gold Stories

Hi There!

Now get regular updates from CW Magazine on WhatsApp!

Click on link below, message us with a simple hi, and SAVE our number

You will have subscribed to our Construction News on Whatsapp! Enjoy

+91 81086 03000

Join us Telegram