
Realty sector welcomes CRR cut, but wants lower rates
The real estate industry today expressed hope that a part of Rs 17,000-crore worth liquidity infused by RBI into the financial system would flow into the realty sector.
The real estate industry today expressed hope that a part of Rs 17,000-crore worth liquidity infused by RBI into the financial system would flow into the realty sector.
Sending positive signs from easing the cash crunch for the realty sector, Secretary for Financial Services D K Mittal on Monday, Sep 17, asked the commercial banks to focus on funding partially completed projects on a priority basis and development of projects in small towns.
The Finance Ministry will meet chief executives of leading banks today, Sep 17, to discuss credit flow to the real estate and housing sectors. According to sources D K Mittal, Secretary of Financial Services, will chair the meeting of bankers, which will take stock of credit flow to the sensitive sectors.
Price rationalisation has always been a tricky issue in real estate business where demand and supply dynamics drive the market more than any other parameter. The fact that real estate is not a perishable commodity and mostly a business of deep pockets, holding of inventory many a time makes more sense than hard sell keeping in mind the pipeline visibility.
CREDAI has reacted sharply over the Finance Minister’s asking chiefs of public sector banks to put pressure on real estate developers to lower property prices and not hold invetory. CREDAI has said in a release that instead of asking realtors to download unsold stock at discounted prices, the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram should take immediate steps to boost to housing stock supply through special incentives to the affordable segment.
Fitch Ratings says in a new report that the Rating Outlook for the Indian real estate sector continues to be Negative for H212, due to persistent sluggish demand, high construction costs and liquidity pressures.
Despite buyers’ expectations of a likely fall in city property prices, this possibility seems limited as developers continue to hold on to their prices across sub-markets on the back of the DCR amendment. This policy, along with the increase in construction costs, has led to greater pressure on developers’ margins. Post the new DCR, the saleable areas are expected to reduce and carpet areas are likely to increase. It is interesting to note that while there have, in fact, been marginal price increases across many projects in MMR, registration data reflects that absorption levels have also increased.
Pointing out that real estate development can revive the sagging economy, developers’ apex body CREDAI has called for launching a mission to make India Housing Surplus from the current status of a housing deficit nation by 2020.
Realty sector may appear to be bullish and project that downside is over with rosy forecast ahead, yet the decline in fortune is far from being over. As a matter of fact, the learning in the last four years has made most of the leading players to restructure their project portfolio and shed the flab.
Anticipating a significant rate cut by the RBI, disappointed real estate community has ring alarm bells and forecast more slump due to the high interest rate regime. Pointing out that the capital and labour intensive sector plays a key role in employment generation and accelerating growth, industry body CREDAI says the government has also been losers of revenue due to neglect of the sector and risks attributed to real estate and the RBI advisories against lending to real estate have only harmed the sector and made housing costlier for consumers, apart from affecting the economy.