Track2Realty-Agencies: Real estate players and analysts on Tuesday welcomed the Reserve Bank’s move to cut short-term lending rates, but said that more such steps are needed to bring growth back to the sector.
Track2Realty: Expressing disappointment over the RBI’s decision to cut repo rate by “just” 25 basis points, realtors’ apex body CREDAI said the central bank appears to missing opportunities time and again.
Track2Realty Roundtable Panelists—Dr Anil Sharma, CMD, Amrapali Group
Sunil Dahiya—Sr Vice President, NAREDCO & MD Vigneshwara Developers
Harmit Chawla—MD, HCorp Realty
PK Tripathi, President, Unitech
Moderator—Ravi Sinha, CEO & Managing Editor, Track2Realty
Track2Realty Exclusive: With the economy booming in India, the developers are to play an important part as the builders of the nation and are definite to become the most important stakeholders in urban development of the country.
Ravi Sinha: I have a question here, and I will be very frank with Mr Tripathi. Any journalist who writes on real estate finds it very amusing that the sector has always tried to put the ball in the government’s court. Since you have been part of the government, how far will you agree to this?
Track2Realty: Walking on a tight rope of fiscal management, the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram did his best to bring smiles on the faces of home buyers. Something that should cheer up the real estate sector looking left, right and centre for buyers with piling inventory. Still, a section of real estate is sulking. Why so? Track2Realty tries to understand the grey zones where for the realtors it was a case of “ye did maange more.”
Track2Realty Exclusive: The Indian real estate today stands at a crossroad where it seems the government is confused, the developer is confused, the financer is confused and the buyer is confused. They all seem to be in a wait and watch mode but not sure as to waiting for what. While the government is sitting over two crucial bills that has far reaching implications on the future of Indian real estate, reforms and regulation means different things to different stake holders. With a tectonic shift expected this year, all the stake holders are evaluating their own cost-benefit.
Ravi Sinha: I think Mr Tripathi has a very valid point that the CCI has emerged. You have also seen the wrong side of consumer activism in a Noida Extension kind of a situation. When we think of reforms, government is looking for a regulator and a whole lot of sector’s wish list has not gone down well with the government. Do you think that the sector will move ahead with some sort of reforms in the year ahead?
Track2Realty: DLF lost 2.85% to Rs 246.70 at 11:09 IST on BSE after the company after market hours on Thursday, 14 February 2013, reported weak Q3 December 2012 results at operational level.
I welcome all the panelists in the final roundtable for Track2Realty Focus 2013. As we come to the end of 2012, it is time to look in & look ahead as far as the prospects of the realty sector are concerned. In this discussion, we would try to wrap up the year 2012, and see where the sector has been heading to in 2013. So, when you look at the year Mr Sharma, don’t you think “oh! what a waste.” So much was expected this year but nothing has moved forward, be it in terms of administrative reforms, fiscal reforms or land reforms; nothing has gone right for the sector.