Pranay Vakil: The problem is when having sanctioned the loan, there is no fear of revoking it. You can change your mind because these funds are kind of committed. When engage Shapoorji Pallonji or L&T to execute a project, you enter into a contract and you say that this is how we are going to make payments. Suddenly, if you are to switch off the tap, it is going to cause a lot of embarrassment to the developer.
As the education sector evolves, factors such as technology permeation, revamped building designs, and focus on health & safety are likely to define education real estate. Besides, modern educational building design must prioritise flexibility so that spaces can be reconfigured to adapt to various teaching methods and activities, developing a dynamic learning environment. To address this and move away from traditional classroom setups, educational buildings now include collaborative spaces to encourage teamwork and group learning. Moreover, sustainable, and eco-friendly design elements, such as energy-efficient systems and natural lighting, are becoming increasingly common to reduce the environmental impact of educational buildings.
In a report titled, ‘Fortifying India’s I&L landscape with a new manufacturing growth formula’, property consultant CBRE claims that the manufacturing sector’s growth has significantly contributed to warehousing demand. The share of sectors catering to the manufacturing space, including engineering & manufacturing, electronics & electricals and auto & ancillary sectors, within the total warehousing demand across major cities, has increased substantially, growing from 15% in 2019 to 24% in 2023 and 25% in H1 2024. The total leasing for warehousing from these manufacturing-related sectors stood at 4.1 mn. sq. ft. in H1 2024.
Understanding the mindset of Indian real estate has never been easy. The built environment of the Indian real estate could argue and demolish the best of consumer-centric reforms. Remember the way industry body CREDAI had called RERA prior to its inception, and that too in front of the then Union Minister Kamal Nath, builder harassment and public amusement bill. But at the same time they celebrate the self-inflicted injury on many occasions. Track2Realty finds the overtones of the sector all the more contradictory with the Union Budget, before and after the budget.
In contrast, with USD 0.3 billion of investments in office assets, the segment witnessed subdued activity in Q2 2024. Although the annual decline was significant at 83%, the QoQ drop was relatively modest at 41%. The surge in industrial & warehousing, and residential investments resulted in a healthy investment volume of USD 3.5 billion for H1 2024 at an overall level, making up for the slow start in first quarter. Foreign investments remained robust, accounting for 81% of the total inflows in Q2 2024, predominantly led by investors from the US and UAE.
India’s urban housing today could at best be described as a soda bottle syndrome where the constant rural push to the select few urban centers could explode at any given point of time. It is not that the policy makers are unaware with the growing population and its dependence over the metro cities. As a matter of fact, when the country’s first planned city, Chandigarh, came into existence as a horizontal city that could cater as the capital of both the Punjab and Haryana State, it seemed to be independent India’s first tryst with organized urban planning in general and its housing solution in particular.
The cost of doing business per square feet has always been challenging in the top 10 cities of India. The ever increasing migration for jobs in these cities have made the housing affordability even bigger challenge. Critics are not cynical when they question as to what extent and till when these cities will continue to be filled up like a soda bottle. Aren’t our metro cities on the verge of a population blast? Come 2021 and Track2Realty analysis believes the infamous Coronavirus in a strange way has shown the way forward.
Ever since the lockdown was imposed in March 2020 with Coronavirus scare at its peak, it seems the built environment of the Indian real estate is experiencing the Placebo Effect. The Placebo Effect is when an improvement is observed, despite an individual receiving a placebo as opposed to active medical treatment. In medical fraternity, it is estimated that 1 in 3 people experience the placebo effect. It seems every stakeholder, barring the home buyers, is experiencing the Placebo Effect in the property market.
While the COVID-19 has by and large dented the confidence level of the real estate developers, Aditya Kushwaha, CEO & Director of Axis Ecorp believes there are silver lining for the players who are forward looking in their approach. In an exclusive interview with Track2Realty, Kushwaha asserts that the Work From Home trend would shift the focus from top metro cities to open spaces in and around the tourist destinations. He therefore urges the government to look at the Holiday Home segment as a priority sector.
India’s commercial office segment has been the favourite asset class of institutional investors over the years. They have allocated USD 17.6 bn in the form of direct investments during 2005-2019. JLL research indicates that 294 mn sq. ft. of office stock would be eligible for REIT. This would translate to an additional investment opportunity of USD 35 bn in near term.