Some of the popular subvention schemes at the time included 20:80 or 25:75 payment plans wherein buyer paid 20-25% upfront while the developer paid the remaining 80% to the lending HFCs or banks on behalf of the buyer, until possession. The 5:90:5 scheme was the most common one on offer.
The last few years have witnessed increasing focus on the affordable housing segment.It remains a key segment for the Government towards its mission of ‘housing for all’. To provide further impetus to affordable housing segment, the Government has sanctioned over 81 lakh homes under PMAY Urban scheme with an investment of about 4.83 lakh crore.
Construction for 4.9 million units has begun and 2.6 million units of which have been completed. Given the past trend, additional 1.64 million houses are likely to be sanctioned by December 2019, making it highly possible to achieve the 10 million houses target by 2022. Projected subsidy disbursement over next 3 year for the same is projected to INR 1 trillion.
As anticipated, residential real estate activity remained largely tepid during the second quarter of 2019 in the backdrop of the general elections during the period but the recent Union Budget sops for the affordable sector may give the much-needed push to the segment henceforth. ANAROCK research indicates that housing sales in Q2 2019 fell by 13% q-o-q and stood at 68,600 units across the top 7 cities.
Only a paltry number of developers have built housing that meets the Government’s criteria for incentivized affordable housing in 2019. ANAROCK data reveals that of the total housing supply of 1,39,490 units in the top 7 cities H1 2019, merely 39,840 units meet these criteria. The Government’s recent Budget ‘bonanza’ of an additional INR 1.5 lakh tax deduction on interest repayment of home loans availed till March 2020 will benefit very few people in urban India.
The Supreme Court of India categorically said on Tuesday, July 23, that serious fraud has been played by real estate firm Amrapali Group in connivance with Noida and Greater Noida authorities by failing to give possession of flats to over 42,000 home buyers.
Without compromising on fiscal prudence, the Finance Ministry will have to present a budget that is not only inclusive but also assures growth across industries. It clearly shoulders a considerable share of responsibility for retaining India’s position as the fastest-growing economy.
Jhumur Ghosh welcomed the panelists, following which Ravi Sinha questioned the global competitiveness of Indian real estate in the wake of thousands of abandoned projects waiting for the funds, the debt-equity ratio imbalance, lending issues, pre-launches without RERA sanctions, and the developers’ defending the indefensible.
Multiple Challenges for HFCs Still in Play: The housing finance sector has been facing challenges, which have led to a contraction in spreads, a rise in funding cost and an increased spotlight on their asset-liability mismatches. Such mismatches have resulted in constrained financing from both market-based sources (CPs and NCDs) and banks for many players.
Fintech is transforming the conventional face of financial services in the country at a rapid pace. Indian customers are becoming more tech-savvy, aware and are accordingly seeking products and services which are up to date and are tailor made specific to their needs. Compared to banks Fintech firms clearly have an edge in terms of product delivery and customization.