Kumari Selja, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation & Minister of Tourism, has categorically blamed the banks for not facilitating the affordable housing. Inaugurating the 10th National Convention of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) at New Delhi the minister said the housing finance sector has witnessed a boom in the recent past due to favorable government policies.
In a report ‘India Market Monitor Q3 2024 – Investments’, CBRE indicates a robust 46% Y-o-Y growth in real estate equity investments, totalling USD 8.9 billion in Jan-Sep ’24 —the highest-ever recorded since CY 2018, surpassing the USD 7.4 billion total equity investments for CY 2023. On a quarterly basis, equity investments in real estate stood at USD 2.6 bn in the Jul-Sep’24 period. Domestic investors (predominately developers) took the lead with ~79% share in equity capital inflows in Jul-Sep ‘24. Singapore-based investors accounted for nearly 73% of the total foreign capital inflows, followed by the United States (~22%). Developer activity picked pace in Jul- Sep ’24 quarter, accounting for a share of nearly 47% in total equity investments, followed by institutional & collective vehicle investors (~36%).
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.
The issue of stalled or delayed project is one of the major pain points of the Indian real estate sector currently. With buyers feeling the heat of delays, it is not surprising that some are now considering completing the projects themselves. This falls within the realm of possibility if the project in question has sufficient cash flows but is delayed for other reasons.
Competing against DLF, the company won the auction and soon made plans to construct a grant 18-hole golf course surrounded by luxury apartments and villas, to be marketed as the plush “Unitech Golf and Country Club”. Flashy advertisements were immediately published and huge booking amounts were collected from aspiring buyers who looking forward to their dream homes in the project.
The journalists covering real estate news are always on the lookout for the grey areas and these buyers’ associations feed them. In exchange, they are always in the news and that lends them credibility in the given market.
There is a growing debate within the realm of second home market as to what is the psychograph of the buyer. Whether they actually go for affordability or location or amenities, or all these factors collectively drive the second home buyers. These are the emerging market realities and till recently the property investment pattern across the country in general and Mumbai in particular suggested that there existed a symbiotic relation between the second home and an affordable home.
The Central and States governments are now contemplating many ways and means to provide access to housing for all. Affordable housing will not only fill the housing gap but be the next major economic growth driver by creating more than 2 million jobs during the period till 2022.
Mumbai, as a matter of fact, demands rental housing to be promoted as the feasibility of such an option provides a broad choice of homes to both the investors as well as the expat professionals. The recent economic turmoil also underscored the many advantages of renting and raised the barriers to home ownership, sparking a surge in demand that has buoyed rental markets across the MMR.
Bottom Line: Can the expected budget bonanza compensate the demonetisation…