Is Luxury Housing Losing the Plot To Affordable Housing?

Luxury supply increased by 29% since 2017
Of 12,090 units new luxury supply in 2018, MMR launched nearly 6,310
NCR – 2,650, Hyderabad – 1,585, Kolkata – 160; Pune saw least supply with less than 100 units

Prashant Thakur, Head – Research, ANAROCK Property Consultants

Catering to a very niche clientele and not the masses, luxury housing has evolved at a rapid pace in India. The nouveau riche (newly rich) prefer discreet opulence over the commonplace, and look for experiential luxury, both at a unit and project level.

From start-up founders to high-salaried professionals, high net-worth individuals are prompting developers who understand the luxury segment to think increasingly out of the box and deliver something unique and aspirational.

On the ‘other side of the fence’, affordable housing has taken centre-stage in India over the past 3-4 years, not only because of the massive demand for it but also due to the concerted efforts by the Government to cater to it. Against such a backdrop, there are rising speculations that luxury housing is losing its sheen to the affordable segment.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The recent stand-off between the government and the RBI owing to the NBFC crisis and the apex bank’s endeavour to maintain its autonomy and reserves had caused the industry to watch closely whether the repo rate will increase or remain unchanged.

That said, today’s move by the RBI to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% was more or less expected. This was not solely because inflation targets are still under control.

Politically, an upward revision would not have served the current Government well as the 2019 elections are around the corner. From the economic standpoint, a hike in repo rates would have had a direct impact on home loan rates.

High housing loan interest rates are known deterrents to many buyers, especially in the affordable segment where higher interest rates can and do weaken sentiment.

Any move to further discourage customers from availing of bank credit would ultimately exacerbate the liquidity crunch and adversely impact the economy.

From that perspective, the unchanged repo rate will at least keep the demand for housing loans at status quo.

The RBI obviously needs to maintain an adequate buffer for the economy – especially in light of the massive changes that are likely to come about in the next few months in form of REITs and SPVs.

by Arun Chitnis

To expand ANAROCK’s UAE presence with new offices in Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait & Saudi Arabia by 2019 end

Mumbai / Dubai, 5 December 2018: ANAROCK Property Consultants today announced that sales & marketing veteran Shajai Jacob, previously Executive Director & Head – Marketing (West Asia) at international property consultancy JLL India, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer – GCC (Middle East).

He will be based out of ANAROCK’s Dubai office and will have complete oversight of the Firm’s brokerage operations across the Middle East & North African countries.

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants says, “We are excited to have Shajai on board to spearhead our rapidly growing Middle Eastern business. Shajai is perfectly aligned with our vision of becoming the most preferred, one-stop, technology-powered residential real estate services firm in the GCC region. He will expand our presence beyond our existing Dubai operations with 4 new offices in Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait over the next 3 quarters. Having worked closely with him for nearly a decade, I have complete confidence in Shajai’s ability to implement our ambitious plans for the Middle East”.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Get India real estate insights and research

Click here to subscribe

50% Complete

Get the newsletter

Access our India real estate insights and research

RERA Deployment: Still Thin, But Complaints Galore

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

More than a year and a half after the deployment of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), it is evident that the Centre’s aim to have it enforced in each state to regulate the Indian real estate sector still falls way short of the intended mark.

It may be recalled that RERA intended to cover developers as well as real estate agents seamlessly across the country.

As it stands now, there are quite a few states still in the process of notifying their RERA rules, while there are others where buyers have been continuously fretting about the dilution of the rules notified.

However, one provision that makes RERA across a few states a ‘hit’ among consumers is the rising number of complaints being registered with the respective state authorities, and its redressal timeline.

Even if the redressal of complaints is not satisfactory for many, consumers are increasingly bestowing their faith on RERA regulators and coming forward in large numbers to register their complaints.

For example, the latest numbers (as on November) show that more than 4,900 complaints have been registered in Maharashtra ever since MahaRERA came into effect.

by Arun Chitnis

New IT, Electronics Policy To Drive West Bengal Housing Demand – ANAROCK Report

Services is the fastest-growing sector with 15.6% growth in 2017-18
Housing prices declined in Q4 2016 after DeMo, but recovered within 4 quarters to register positive growth.

Kolkata, 28 November 2018: West Bengal’s new IT policy to disseminate the IT-ITeS activities across the state for the benefit of the population in the fringe and rural areas.

This will be a game-changer for the state’s real estate market as well as its larger economy. This is one of the many highlights of the report ‘Kolkata: The East’s Icon of Balanced Growth‘ by knowledge partners ANAROCK at CREDAI StateCon today.

The report emphasises West Bengal’s aim to spread the reach of IT/ITeS across the state will help replicate the success of Eastern Kolkata in other parts of the state.

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants says, “While West Bengal’s real estate market has witnessed only marginal capital values appreciation since 2015, some significant reforms by the State Government have infused a fresh spark into it.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Co-working and car-pooling have become viable options for the millennial workforce, and an exciting new trend – co-living – is also beginning to make its mark with the burgeoning student population across Indian cities.

While it is largely the major cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Gurgaon and Pune that began promoting this concept, the demand for co-living spaces is also gradually percolating into tier 2 cities like Jaipur and Lucknow where both working millennials and students are increasingly opting for co-living spaces.

Co-living is much more than a mere bed-and-breakfast deal. These are fully-furnished homes where the privacy of tenants is respected. Private bedrooms with access to common shared areas like the kitchen and living room are the norm.

Such spaces offer convenience and an entirely new lifestyle for young professionals – most often bachelors and singles – who are not keen to change cities because of their work.

Their main concern is finding the right accommodation. For them, co-living is an ideal solution, and conventional paying guest facilities and hostels are gradually giving way to this more sophisticated way of living in a less inhibited and restrictive environment with ample opportunities to mingle.

by Santhosh Kumar

Developers should not replicate another Yamuna Expressway story

Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The inauguration of the much-awaited Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway comes at a time when NCR residential real estate needs some serious booster shots to up its flagging game.

And, of course, any infrastructure initiative of such a scale always gets touted to be a game-changer for the real estate market of the concerned areas and regions.

The Indubitable Up-side

The peripheral realty markets of Gurugram and Delhi will benefit immensely from the opening up of this Expressway.

It will not only ease traffic but also create more demand for housing and most other real estate assets, including warehousing and logistics. Other than these, cities like Sonepat, Kundli, Manesar and Faridabad are also likely to see a boost in demand.

One of the immediate impacts of this mega infra project will be enhanced economic activity in areas along the Expressway. For instance, areas north of Delhi that had already become hubs for logistics and warehousing are likely to see spiked industrial investments in various sectors.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Get India real estate insights and research

Click here to subscribe

50% Complete

Get the newsletter

Access our India real estate insights and research

Is There Any Hope For Dharavi?

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

So far, there have been no answers – only more questions

Mumbai’s Dharavi, one of the largest slums in Asia, has been an area of contention for almost two decades now.

For all its revelations, the recent blockbuster film ‘Kaala‘ only underscored what Mumbaikars, human rights activists, urban planners and real estate developers have known for decades – there is no simple formula for unravelling the complex Dharavi equation.

Occupying 535 acres of prime land in the very heart of India’s financial capital, Dharavi could be a motherlode of pure gold for developers who could get a piece of it.

Formal housing developments there would also give innumerable Mumbaikars exactly what they need – homes in the heart of the city and within a short commute to some of Mumbai’s most important workplace hubs.

Not surprisingly, the Maharashtra State Government has been eager to redevelop Dharavi. Building affordable to mid-range housing projects here would completely reinvent the residential real estate equation of Central Mumbai and also make a major contribution to the Central Government’s Housing for All by 2022 target.

by Arun Chitnis

PRESS RELEASE

ANAROCK Launches Consulting Services Headed By Ashutosh Limaye

Gaurav Wahi joins as Head of Operations, ANAROCK Consulting

Mumbai, 19 November 2018: Leading full-stack real estate services providers ANAROCK Property Consultants have announced the formal launch of ANAROCK Consulting Services.

The division will be led by industry veteran and thought-leader Ashutosh Limaye as Director & Head – ANAROCK Consulting Services.

Limaye was previously National Director & Head of Research at a leading international property consultancy. His long-standing senior associate Gaurav Wahi comes on board as Head of Operations for the new Consulting vertical.

“It is exciting to be a part of ANAROCK, India’s most disruptive and tech-driven real estate services firm,” says Ashutosh Limaye. “We look forward to amplifying its scope with our consulting expertise. This division will provide expert advisory services to major real estate stakeholders across the board, starting with developers. We service Government agencies, banks, NBFCs, institutional investors and retailers as well as HNIs and end users on the perfect entry,

by Anuj Puri

Mapping Mumbai’s emerging suburbs as the new growth corridors

65-70% of MMR’s housing launches in peripheries
Nearly 54% supply priced below INR 80 lakh
At 0.2 million units, MMR has 37% of unsold inventory in the top 7 cities

Mumbai, 15 November 2018: Between 65-70% of new housing launches in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has been its emerging suburbs, states ANAROCK’s latest report ‘The Peripheries – Greater Mumbai’s Future Suburbs‘.

As knowledge partners for the event, ANAROCK unveiled the report at Economic Times’ ACETECH real estate trade fair in Mumbai today.

In the process of scoping out MMR’s new real estate growth corridors, this report clearly illustrates how the rising property prices in Greater Mumbai are leading to a natural housing demand progression towards the peripheral areas.

While Mumbai’s share in overall launches in MMR declined from 71% in 2013 to 67% in the first three quarters of 2018, Navi Mumbai has witnessed an increase in share from 9-17%.

Due to the expansion of city limits from Greater Mumbai to the peripheries, more than 1.8 lakh units since 2013 have been launched in the western and central peripheral regions.

Is Luxury Housing Losing the Plot To Affordable Housing?

Unchanged Repo Rates Astute From All Angles

Shajai Jacob Joins ANAROCK As CEO – GCC (Middle East)

RERA Deployment: Still Thin, But Complaints Galore