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.
From online presence to virtual tour of the property, and digital advertising to sponsored games & other connecting platforms, the developers are not leaving any stone unturned to touch base with NRIs.
With real estate giving better ROI than any other investment vehicle in the country the investors in the India are today exposed to what is happening in the global market. The investors are hence curious to explore what has been tried and tested format in other matured markets – crowdfunding.
The major demographic profile of the NRIs is from the states of Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab and other parts of North and South India. Going by what the traditional investment pattern of the Indians, the cities that should draw the maximum NRI investment should be Kochi, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh. But then it is the Mumbai city that has over the years commanded the maximum premium from the NRIs.
Mumbai has been the undisputed financial capital of India. The emergence of other business destinations, like Bangalore, Gurgaon or Pune could not take the sheen out of the city, even in the wake of infrastructure deficit and other urban problems plaguing the peninsular city. Now the Mumbai city is poised to elevate itself to the next level of business destination. The MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority) plans to make Mumbai a major global financial hub.
Industry is nevertheless clear that such apprehensions are just teething problems. Jaxay Shah, President, CREDAI maintains that even though most states have not been able to implement it immediately and are in the process of doing so, yet both consumers and developers need to look at it optimistically. There will be teething problems initially, but as the regulatory mechanism sets in place, we will see a smoother transition into the new administration.
The top 8 cities witnessed residential launches of approximately 25,800 units in the first quarter of 2017 and registering a 16% decline from the corresponding period last year, says a report by Cushman & Wakefield.
Urban habitation at the cost of environmental concerns have globally been debated and contested. In India the environmental concerns have often stalled big-ticket infrastructure projects and the government also vows its commitment to encourage the eco friendly and sustainable developments. However, some recent decisions have exposed the gap between the lip service of the policy makers and their commitment to the cause of eco friendly and sustainable developments.
In a business that lacked the critical element of trust and transparency, forget brand equity, the entry of corporate conglomerates was widely perceived to be change of business outlook for the sector. The collective consciousness accepted the promise that the corporate giants would change the brand perception of the sector in no time. This load of trust & opportunity goaded many corporate houses into the non-core expertise area of real estate.
The penetration of basic personal packages of insurance like health or home is dismally low. Health Insurance is less than 10 per cent of the people who can afford it. Home insurance is still less at hardly 1 per cent. So, there is scope for personal lines of insurance especially the retail lines of business to grow exponentially.