Singapore investors are betting big on Indian commercial real estate and other new sunshine sectors, including logistics and warehousing. Major Singapore-based private equity firms are funnelling billions of dollars into the country’s real estate sector, particularly in South Indian cities.
Investors are scouting for investment-ready assets in core office locations in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which together accounted for about 77% of the total leasing in 2018. We foresee higher investor interest for Greenfield projects in southern cities, especially Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which are witnessing pent-up demand in key office corridors.
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.
The Indians think instead of media hyperbole of big measures many of the small but practical measures can go a long way to ensure a house for each family, if not each individual. Some of the suggested measures may not make the government popular, and hence the Indians are not convinced with the promise of housing for all.
At a time when the developers across the cities are struggling to either cope up or align with the emerging regulatory compliances like the RERA, these numbers clearly indicate that Chennai has not only been among the front runners in compliances and best practices but also ahead of the competition curve as far as the launches and absorption are concerned.
Affordable housing was given the much-coveted infrastructure status, and the very definition of affordable housing has been tweaked to accommodate more inventory under this key category. Moreover, the previously highly speculative markets of NCR and MMR have been tamed and are, in fact, leading the thrust of affordable housing today.
In a sales driven and measurable ROI dictated environment of the Indian real estate, the ad campaign comes as a market disruption. It is a result of great thought, deeper understanding of the urban housing realities and a bold statement that the company has not only been witness to a turnaround (after controversies of the past) but also confident enough to gamble now to stay ahead of the competition curve.
This home buyers’ outburst over the media hype & industry reaction with reference to reduced GST is not an exception. Across the country the home buyers are questioning how the GST reduction has made the houses affordable in the cities where the jobless growth is fast turning into job loss de-growth. This is over and above the fact that the property prices are way beyond the affordability index.
About 40% of all the new launches in 2018 were under the affordable segment. Cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and NCR witnessed maximum launches in the affordable segment that is below INR5 million. Mumbai on the other hand witnessed more launches in the mid segment housing, in the range of INR 5-10 million.
Gross leasing activity is recorded at 50 million square feet in 2018, highest in last eight years driven by buoyant leasing in Bengaluru and NCR. Compared to the previous year, gross leasing increased by 17% as occupiers continued to expand and consolidate. The top 3 sectors contributing to gross leasing were IT-ITeS with 43%, flexible workplaces with 14% and BFSI with 12% share.