Absence of affordable rental housing in major cities led to mass exodus of migrants that had zero income during the lockdown
Author: Anuj Puri
Anuj Puri is Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants. He has over 30 years of experience in multi-disciplinary advisory and transactions ranging from real estate to social development projects. Expertise in planning, undertaking demand assessment studies and transaction services including marketing strategies based on technical real estate market analysis, feasibility studies, program requirement derivation and fund and investor sourcing.
Housing sales and new launches have plunged to a new low across India’s top 7 cities in Q2 2020. Latest ANAROCK research reveals that residential sales in the quarter plummeted by 81% on a yearly basis in these cities – from 68,600 units in Q2 2019 to just 12,720 units in Q2 2020.
~ 4.66 Lakh Homes Scheduled for 2020 Delivery May Miss Deadline
If not for COVID-19, the top 7 cities were to see the delivery of nearly 4.66 lakh units by 2020-end. Launched after 2013, many of the projects were in the final leg of completion
It’s all very well to exhort developers to cut their prices to push sales, but this is still a very incomplete narrative presenting only half of the story.
From a more than 100% difference between the two rates in certain areas in Mumbai, Pune, Gurgaon, etc. in 2015, some localities presently show a mere 6% variation
The previous 'gold standard' of Indian housing - the walk-to-work / short drive to work, by definition only in and around central corporate workplace hubs - may shed some its popularity for the middle class
Currently, the top 7 cities account for almost 70% of India's residential market, with the remaining 30% accounted for in Tier 2 & 3 cities. This ratio may well change in times to come. Cities like Lucknow, Indore, Chandigarh, Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur and Ahmedabad would be the main beneficiaries of the reverse migration of professionals who have lost their jobs in the metros or are likely to.
Today’s repo rate cut will further help banks to lower home loan interest rates, which may get several more fence-sitters onto the market.
Land is the basis of all economic activity in any country, and a sound land policy - updated to current requirements - is imperative for developing nations like India
In a big move, the government has announced the one-year extension of the CLSS scheme up to March 2021. This will help push demand for affordable housing.