Continuing its upward trajectory, India’s top eight primary residential markets witnessed a strong demand during January-March (Q1 2024) this year with sales rising by 68 per cent in value terms to nearly Rs 1.11 lakh crore, according to a report by PropTiger.com.
Isn’t it ironic that in a country where the number of unsold housing units is skyrocketing, the business of real estate continues to be a seller’s market? Contrary to the developers’ influence peddling that the housing market is by and large a buyer’s market now, the fact lies that the developers continue to take the buyers for a ride. The developers’ exploitative practices are not limited to the delay of the project, but also default in delivering the promised amenities, and, most glaringly, with one-sided unfair contract. Track2Realty explains the options before the home buyers.
New homes supply and sales showed a significant improvement in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Oct–Dec) in line with the ongoing economic recovery with government’ initiatives and increased market confidence providing an added growth impetus.
The Indian housing market is a vicious cycle of broken promises, trust deficit, sulking participants and non-delivery. Statistics only tell you half the story. For the developers, market trackers and the government agencies it is all about numbers – how many units have not been delivered. What these raw statistics don’t tell you that there is a sordid saga of drying emotions of one family with each housing unit. Probably the stakeholders are least bothered about the plight of an average middle class home buyer who has exhausted his lifetime savings, taken up home loan and now reeling under the burden of both the EMI and the rent.
Over-supply has been oft-repeated blame game for slow property absorption across the country. However, in most of the cases this over-supply is a misunderstood term. In a country where the housing shortage is huge, any mention of over-supply is misleading in the first place. In most of the property markets, it is the demand & supply mismatch which is termed as over-supply.
The moot point in Noida Extension today is whether the locality would be able to cope up with the influx of 3 lakh plus families. Most of the urban planning experts in this part of the world maintain that unless the Greater Noida Authority gets into a fast forward mode to execute the planned infrastructure projects living in Noida Extension would be challenging in the days to come.
The hopes of middle class homebuyers have dashed and they blame the Finance Minister for presenting an election-oriented budget. Many even question the direction of the government where the focus has suddenly shifted towards the rural and farm sector in the last full budget presented by this government.
HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Auhtority) is making all efforts to project the market as investment destination and once operational the KMP (Kindly-Manesar-Palwal) Expressway will connect the Neharpar area with Delhi and Gurgaon. A three-km flyover between Delhi and Faridabad which will ease traffic bottlenecks at the Badarpur border has already cleared the traffic bottlenecks in the area. Six-laning of the existing bypass road starting from Badarpur, parallel to the Agra and Gurgaon canals is further adding to its connectivity.
Track2Realty: The month of October saw the government easing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms to boost India’s construction sector. The announcement is expected to widen the sector’s investor-base by allowing FDI in smaller projects of 20,000 sq. m. instead of 50,000 sq. m. from firms with capitalization of US$5 million instead of US$10 million.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The NRI enquiries are unlikely to materialise as sales because Indian real estate has lost its credibility. Moreover, given that general elections are around the corner, real estate is in doldrums as all the black money that has been pumped into realty, is slowly being drained out to fund elections.