According to a World Bank report, India received USD 79 billion in remittances in 2018 – with a sizeable portion going into real estate. NRI investments into Indian real estate are led Indian expatriates from UAE, USA, UK, and Canada. In terms of Indian cities, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi-NCR currently attract the lion’s share of NRI investments.
The NRIs from the US, UK, Middle East, South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Mauritius participated in the survey. They were given a mix of open-ended and close-ended questions to assess their investment choice in the Indian property market. The data was then collated by Track2Realty team to read the mood of the NRIs vis-à-vis their investment choice in the Indian property market.
Various Government-driven policies including ease of doing business in India are attracting both Indian and global companies, squarely benefiting commercial real estate. Big-bang boosters like the start-up revolution and the Make in India and Smart Cities missions have created a very lucrative environment for businesses to work and expand in India.
Singapore investors are betting big on Indian commercial real estate and other new sunshine sectors, including logistics and warehousing. Major Singapore-based private equity firms are funnelling billions of dollars into the country’s real estate sector, particularly in South Indian cities.
As per ANAROCK data, the top 7 cities currently have a total stock of 5.6 lakh delayed housing units worth a whopping INR 4,51,750 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.
Cash-strapped builders have been hoping for all and any Government interventions which can help boost their sales volumes. This GST cut will provide such a boost, at least in the short-term as more fence-sitters who had been postponing their purchase decisions now have an additional incentive to take the plunge.
There is no restriction on the number of properties that NRIs can own in India. However, NRIs obviously need to make informed decisions on such acquisitions. The most important consideration is that of whether the property purchase is for their own or their family’s actual use, or as an investment for rental income and potential capital appreciation.
The Government’s decision to allow 51% FDI in multi-brand retail and 100% FDI in single-brand retail under the automatic route was a definite crowd-pleaser that attracted giants like Walmart to make forays into the country.
Year 2018 was a veritable roller-coaster ride for the Indian real estate. Despite signs of recovery across segments, the liquidity crunch – further exacerbated by the NBFC crisis – put all industry stakeholders on tenterhooks.
Mumbai real estate, often criticized for getting saturated, has been rather blessed with a number of hidden jewels. The city is sitting over some of the under-valued and lesser-known micro markets that are set to transform into property hotspots pretty soon. The cynics who thought that the peninsular city is left with no scope of horizontal growth have probably not visited any of these places.