The country’s housing market has also seen the highest impact of policy-induced disruptions. Given the fact that the housing market was tainted by malpractices and lack of customer-centricity by developers, the Government had to step in with policy interventions squarely aimed at cleaning up the sector.
Fintech is transforming the conventional face of financial services in the country at a rapid pace. Indian customers are becoming more tech-savvy, aware and are accordingly seeking products and services which are up to date and are tailor made specific to their needs. Compared to banks Fintech firms clearly have an edge in terms of product delivery and customization.
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.
Tech & IT-BPM sector accounted for the largest share at 38%. Flexible workspaces (co-working) has contributed close to 30% of office leasing. The demand for space was not only led for foreign players, but also home-grown operators who are rushing to capture a pie of this space. The absorption by flexi-operators will pick up pace in the wake of developers jumping onto the bandwagon.
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.
This policy ‘trishul’ brought about a paradigm shift in the way Indian real estate does business and laid the groundwork for improved transparency and efficiency in the sector. However, while end-user and investor confidence were rekindled for real estate, it did not exactly set the industry on fire with renewed interest.
There is no restriction on the number of properties that NRIs can own in India. However, NRIs obviously need to make informed decisions on such acquisitions. The most important consideration is that of whether the property purchase is for their own or their family’s actual use, or as an investment for rental income and potential capital appreciation.
The listing of India’s first REIT by Blackstone-backed Embassy Group has been in the offing for quite some time, but it now finally appears that it will be listed within the first half of 2019. As REITs await their official deployment in India, investors hoping to cash on this new avenue for generous ROI growth seek to understand what exactly is in store for them – and for the real estate market.
Year 2018 was a veritable roller-coaster ride for the Indian real estate. Despite signs of recovery across segments, the liquidity crunch – further exacerbated by the NBFC crisis – put all industry stakeholders on tenterhooks.
This growth is witnessed across five major cities – Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Bengaluru and Pune, where 4000 homebuyers were surveyed by 360 Realtors to understand buying trends. One of the key driving factors for the increase in investor interest is the impact of policies such as RERA. Assured rentals and EMI payouts after possession, offered by developers have also significantly boosted investor confidence.