Track2Realty Exclusive: If regulatory changes have been a cause of concern for the developers in the Gujarat real estate market, the political uncertainty prior to the general elections definitely threatens to prolong the slump in the realty market. Elections and real estate have a symbiotic relationship where elections bring a kind of stasis that is unproductive.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Real estate gains are not always short-term but often long-term from investment point of view. The same can be said about 2013 where despite of an outside view dismissing the year 2013 for low sales velocity, piling inventory, liquidity crunch and policy ambiguity, added to the country moving to the General Elections in 2014, the sector has managed to pave the way for long term reforms.
Track2Realty: 2013 was one of much economic turbulence. High retail inflation, high interest rates and a continuous fall in the rupee value, have been slowing the overall growth and have continuously hindered the investment sentiment in the market during the entire 2013.
Track2Realty: Total net office space absorption recorded a 25% decline in across top eight cities over last year. According to the annual year end estimations by Cushman & Wakefield the total net absorption for 2013 was recorded at 23 million square feet (msf). Most cities have witnessed a decline in net absorption in the range of 20-40% during the year, except Pune where incremental new space take-up increased by 15% in 2013.
Track2Realty: There are still significant investment opportunities left in India’s real estate market. For investors looking at cost-effective projects to park their funds, this might be a right time as weak market sentiments are likely to lead to weak valuations, providing windows for investing in quality projects.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune…wait India has just discovered yet another claimant as the ‘Luxury Capital’. The City of Ahmedabad known more for its cost conscious living and affordable housing has been witness to the city’s slow but steady rise to the luxury living with developers’ focus shifting on luxury projects, buyers’ looking up to scale their living and luxury brands flocking to the city.
Track2Realty: India’s hospitality real estate space has probably come of age; and has reached a critical threshold in its learning as well as business development curves. Although the ongoing economic slowdown and uncertainty have caused hotel rates to decrease marginally in the last couple of years, India now stands at the cusp of a hotel building and rebranding boom, which should help keep rates competitive in 2013.
Track2Realty Exclusive: To say that the year 2013 has been stressful for the Indian real estate would be like stating the obvious. A major reason why the sector could not perform up to its true potential this year is the negative market sentiments.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Brand managers of the companies who have been into strategising at the bottom of the pyramid wish it is high time credible bodies initiate measures on this front in the public domain. On the other hand, private equity funds in their due diligence reports (privately) do accord importance to this aspect.
Track2Realty: Investments in real estate total value of announced private equity transactions in the real estate for the first three quarters of 2013 were recorded at INR 4,716 crores (USD 755million), witnessing an increase of 26% compared to the first three quarters of 2012 (INR 3,750 crores / USD 704 million).