Revival of the residential real estate market this year

From the past few years, India’s residential real estate market has experienced a slowdown. Thanks to the macroeconomic indicator and measures taken by the Indian government to bring transparency, this sector is all set to rebound.

It is believed that apartments in Whitefield (Bengaluru), apartments in OMR (Chennai), and apartments in Kondwa (Pune) are great for investment, at the moment.

Ashwinder Raj Singh, the CEO, residential services, JLL India, said,“India’s residential property market has been going through turbulent times for past few years. However, things are looking up now with changes in the economy and various initiatives announced by the government.”

Factors like low demand, high inventory levels, and limited fund flow has dwindled sales in the sector, affecting the new establishments.

As per a recent report by JLL, the novel residential venture launches witnessed a reduction by 6 percent in the first quarter of 2016 over the last quarter of 2015.

Overall sales of residential properties declined in the financial year 2015-16 compared to 2014-15. As per recent reports, 1,58,211 units were sold in the financial year 2015-16 as opposed to 1,61,875 units sold in the financial year 2014-15, which is a decline of 2.2 percent.

A ray of optimism was seen in the otherwise hopeless situation with the rise of sales in the first quarter of 2016.

Specialists believe that the implementation of the Real Estate Act will give a positive drive to the feeble sector by reviving the spirits of the buyers through manifold initiatives.
One of the best initiatives taken is that the aggrieved party has the right to claim the amount at the prescribed rate along with the interest if the possession is not given.

Shveta Jain, the managing director, residential services, Cushman & Wakefield said, “The Real Estate Regulation and Development Act 2016 will encourage investments from foreign and domestic financial institutions and protecting the interest of the home buyers. Mandatory disclosure of projects, including details of the promoter, project, land status, clearances, approvals, etc. would increase the credibility of developers and would protect consumer rights as well.”

Ashwinder Raj Singh of JLL states 5 points for the road ahead for the realty sector:

• The expectation of good monsoon, recovery in the economy, decreased inflation, and the fact that the rates of residential properties are on a hike again has brought a shift in the trend. Also, the combination of an improved regulatory environment of the realty sector and progressive Government schemes like AMRUT, Housing for all by 2022 and Smart Cities are starting to create a positive influence. Moreover, factoring in banks’ passing on of interest rate cut advantages to the end user; the residential department is on the path of regrowth. 

• At the end of the financial year 2015-16, the rates were stagnant or at a modest rise. While Lucknow witnessed a hike of 16.1% in the prices in third quarter 2015, NCR witnessed a price ascent of 5% during the second quarter of 2015. Moving forward, rates are expected to rise moderately.

• The establishment of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority to ensure timely delivery of the real estate projects and bring more transparency in the dealings with builders has build trust in the market, motivating the buyers to invest again. A credible start has been indicated by the affordable housing segment, with this division seeing heightened traction on the outskirts of the leading cities. Of the entire sales, more than half the properties were marked below Rs. 5000/sq ft in the financial year 2015-16.

• International factors have an effect, but India’s present low-interest rates and low inflation rates along with moving economy will encourage development in the residential realty sector in the mid-to-long term.

• The encouragement that the latest Union Budget is providing to both, the demand as well as supply side has improved the funding for the real estate industry. It has also helped in clearing problems on REITs. More impressive signs of recovery should be evident during the last quarter of the year 2016 or by the first quarter of 2017.

This is a guest post by Deepak Yewle