India has the second largest population in the world and is expected to overtake China by 2025. Fulfilling the housing needs of the Indian population which is growing at 1.41% annually is a tremendous challenge for the government today.
One of the biggest problems afflicting the sector is its high level of debt. The debt load of 11 listed real estate companies stands at Rs.38,500 crore.
Market forces of demand and supply are the most potent determinants of price and the developments in the real estate industry during year 2011 is the latest example.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has said that the draft Real Estate Bill should not penalise only the developer for time overruns but instead cover the liability of all stakeholders, including government agencies and urban local bodies.
Battling huge vacancies, piling inventories and lacklustre rentals, the Indian real estate is looking forward to retail FDI as a savior, expecting a windfall following the entry of global giants looking for more retail space for expansion.
The draft Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2011, aims at bringing reforms in the unorganised Indian real estate sector.
Even as global economic slowdown and uncertainty in financial markets have battered the real estate industry countrywide, properties in Kolkata and Chennai bucked the trend with steady demand in affordable and mid-segment housing.
The festival of Diwali has a direct bearing on the property market, and irrespective of the overall macro economic scenario the property transactions around this time of the year have been the maximum.
Not far from Mukesh Ambani’s 27-storey tower, Antilia, may not be the tallest scyscaper in Mumbai as a competing skyscraper is making its way into Mumbai’s skyline.
The real estate market may be in a slump with developers innovating ways and means to increase sell, but the festive season seems to be bringing in good cheer for the country’s tallest tower — Lodha World One.