The past few months have been a rollercoaster ride for the real-estate sector like never before. Announcements related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Real-Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), unchanged repo rates, implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, renewed focus on infrastructure development, consumer activism in courts and, most recently, demonetisation have triggered short-term uncertainties about the market but will result in long-term gains.
The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is a people’s budget, where affordable housing has been the focus and will be given infra status. This bodes well for home seekers living in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, which is also in line with the government’s vision of ‘Housing for All 2022’.
The cement industry has been severely impacted by the recent demonetisation. Its growth in the current financial year is likely to plummet to 4 per cent as against the earlier projection of 4-6 per cent. And, this may impact the debt level of small and medium firms.
Lodha Group has announced the launch of its maiden investment fund for startups focused on smart city solutions and the overall real estate sector. With an initial investment corpus of Rs 50 crore, the company will not only provide angel funding or venture capital, but also business opportunities, industry contacts and mentorship.
It makes for a telling revelation that considering the 11,500 developers under the CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India) umbrella, the number of developers who have consistently delivered projects across all three phases of the Indian residential real estate* cycle over a 11-year period stands at a measly 124.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced the demonetisation of existing notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in India, effective from November 9, 2016. This move will prompt people to shift to electronic transactions and the use of plastic money will increase.
The Government of India’s recent move on demonetisation is indeed a game-changer and despite the immediate hiccups, it will definitely have positive implications on the sector in the long run.
The average price of a house in the main cities across India has increased by 3.6 per cent compared to last year while rental values have grown at a faster rate of 4.9 per cent during the same period.
With a likely spur in the home rentals business, especially on the back of demonetisation, property portal Housing.com has decided to re-enter the segment from early 2017.
The CREDAI fraternity, comprising 11,500 real estate developers spread over 166 cities in 23 states, is fully and unequivocally supporting the decision of the Government of India to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in the national endeavor to eliminate black money, corruption, fake currency and terror financing.
