Anuj Puri – Page 24

One Year Of GST – Good, Bad Or Ugly For Real Estate?

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), a revolutionary tax reform rolled out in July 2017, has effectively replaced the previous Gordian Knot of multiple taxes like VAT, central excise duty, commercial tax, service tax, octroi, etc.

It has made India a ‘tax-neutral’ nation – and while it evoked a response best described as ‘mixed’ from real estate buyers, most of them are in favour of it.

This is natural, as the unitary tax compliance system has simplified the homebuying process – and with the passage of Input Tax Credit (ITC), there may not be a significant additional burden to buying a home.

Homebuyers in the affordable housing segment – specifically homes of up to 60 sq.m carpet area in size – have benefited significantly from the reduction of GST by 4% (from 12% to 8%).

However, even almost a year after GST implementation, the only real clarity that exists for property buyers is on the prevailing GST rate of 12% on under-construction projects.

There is still confusion about the amount of rebate that a prospective homebuyer is entitled to on the back of the pass-over of ITC.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Across the globe, 5th June is celebrated as World Environment Day, which is the principal platform of the United Nation to create more awareness and action towards protecting Earth’s environment. This day has a very special significance for the real estate sector

Over the past few decades, fast-paced economic development coupled with rapid population growth and urbanization has led to a rapid depletion of natural resources.

The accelerated rate of resource consumption and rise in greenhouse gases’ emission has resulted in significant environmental degradation. This has, in turn, resulted in climate change, the rise in average temperature and deterioration of air quality.

The building sector is one of the major consumers of natural resources such as water, energy and other raw materials. It generates a large number of wastes and pollutants during the three phases of its life cycle – construction, maintenance and deconstruction.

As per estimates, the construction sector consumes an approximate 25% of water and 35-40% energy, apart from other raw materials. Additionally, it emits 40% of global wastes and 35% of greenhouse gases.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

‘Small is beautiful’ is the new buzzword with Indian millennials when it comes to buying homes in cities like Mumbai.

These young professionals are less focused on size and look for homes in locations close or well-connected to their workplaces so that their daily commute is reduced and work-life balance is maintained. Compact homes are also low on maintenance expenses and are invariably very budget-friendly in all respects.

With the ever-increasing rents in a city like Mumbai, buying a compact home is also a very suitable option for several new citizens. Taking a small loan and paying up the monthly EMIs on an investment-grade asset which can be easily resold is seen as preferable to shelling out hefty rents.

On the back of this trend – and the prevailing market sentiment which is averse to overly heavy investments into residential property – apartment sizes in the Indian metros are definitely shrinking as developers increasingly deploy affordably-priced homes for which the demand is currently the highest.

In fact, apartment sizes have already reduced significantly enough to justify any and all measures that help maximize the usability of the available spaces.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The Union Cabinet’s amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code now effectively treats homebuyers as financial creditors and comes as a massive relief to them.

Residential property buyers are now effectively considered at par with banks and other institutional creditors when it comes to recovering dues from real estate developers who have gone bankrupt.

However, it needs to be seen how the resolution mechanism for claiming the dues actually falls in place for the concerned homebuyers. In fact, to be truly relevant, the entire implementation process needs to be clarified to homebuyers.

They need to know how exactly they will be represented in the creditors’ committee – in other words, whether the NCLT will appoint a resolution professional to represent their rights and interests.

That said, this amendment will certainly go a considerable way in bringing more transparency into the overall funding of projects across the country. With homebuyers now getting the opportunity to claim their dues from builders, there is an even stronger burden on developers to deliver on time.

We will now see builders become more cautious while taking funds from financial institutions and banks,

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Over 30 new shopping malls covering 14 million sq. ft. of the area expected across top 8 cities by 2020
Indian retail pegged to grow by 60% to reach US$ 1.1 trillion by 2020
Tier 2 cities fast catching up with the metros

Rapid urbanization and digitization, increasing disposable incomes and lifestyle changes of the middle-class are leading to a major revolution in the Indian retail sector, which is pegged to grow by 60% to reach US$ 1.1 trillion by 2020.

The Government has clearly hit the bullseye by easing the FDI norms in the retail sector over the past few years. Reacting to the immense opportunities and diminishing entry barriers into the Indian retail scene, overseas retailers are now expanding exuberantly.

And it’s not just the metros they’re targeting – even tier 2 cities like Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Jaipur, to name a few, are opening up for organized retail in a big way. Malls are literally mushrooming across the Indian subcontinent.

Ready,

by Anuj Puri

The 14 spokes of RERA’s protective umbrella

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The Indian real estate industry, particularly the residential sector, was in the past correctly characterized as being unregulated and unorganized with unreasonable project delays and poor quality of construction being definitive aspects.

The arrival of the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) in March 2016 brought in a paradigm shift in the sector and metamorphosed it into a more mature, systematic and regulated one.

RERA came into force on May 1, 2017, and is meant to be a homebuyer-friendly regime which will address their grievances and promote transparency, efficiency, financial discipline and accountability in the sector.

Indeed, buying a home is not only the most cherished dream for many Indians but also one of the biggest long-term financial commitment in the buyers’ lifetime.

Considering this, there are 14 important guidelines incorporated in the RERA umbrella to prevent unscrupulous players from raining on consumers’ homebuying plans:

1. Enforcing timely delivery of projects

In case of project delays,

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Buying a house is an important milestone and a lifetime decision for most Indians. After years of saving and diligent planning, one decides to purchase a house.

In addition to the increased social stature and financial security implied in home-ownership, a home purchase also helps in big-time tax savings. Also, instead of paying fat rentals, one creates an asset which will appreciate over the long term.

A cursory look at average property prices reveals that overall across the top 7 cities, there isn’t too much variation in 2017 as compared to the previous year.

Also, property prices differ in each city and also vary as per the location and its inherent growth drivers. Generally, developers are not in favour of visibly reducing the prices as it transmits negative sentiments in the market.

However, a deep-dive assessment of the market conditions reveals that a pseudo-price correction has come in the form of freebies, discounts, offers, schemes, etc. Also, buyers who sit across the table in a developer’s office with a token amount cheque, discounts and reduced prices are surely offered.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The Government’s approval on the long-pending Mumbai DP 2034 is a welcome move.

The DP is likely to spur real estate activity in the city and also pave the way for the development of much-needed affordable houses in Maximum City.

Let’s look at the major highlights and likely impacts of this Development Plan:

Highlights of DP 2034

Overall NDZ is 16,700 hectares of which around 12,900 have now been classified as Natural Area (NA), which includes parts of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mangroves, salt pans and parts of Film City and Aarey milk colony, along with a few regions under CRZ.
DP 2034 proposes to unlock 3,700 hectares of public and private land currently tagged as No Development Zones (NDZ) – this massive land unlocking will open new avenues for real estate development
There is a target to construct 10 lakh affordable homes through unlocking of NDZ – this is a major push for the affordable housing segment, and much needed to accommodate the ever-increasing population in the city
The largest additions to the city’s developable land banks in recent history
FSI levels in the Island City are raised up to 3,

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

In the past, the ROI on housing assets had been quite satisfactory and in some cases even spectacular, depending on the aptness of choice in terms of specific location, configuration, amenities and builder’s brand.

While rental yields for residential assets in India have historically been low, capital appreciation alone was a sufficiently dynamic prospect for most real estate investors.

However, the hype around residential property investment has fizzled out over the last 2-3 years, with a prolonged slowdown severely impacting capital appreciation. As of now, investors with the financial wherewithal and requisite understanding of the commercial real estate space find office assets far more attractive, and for good reason.

In the first place, office properties in the right location and project attract quality corporate tenants and can, therefore, yield very good rental returns over prolonged periods.

The average rental yield of a good commercial property falls in the range of 6%-10%, whereas the rental yield of a residential property is dismally low in the range of 1.5% – 3.5%. Simultaneously, capital appreciation can also be more than satisfactory for the right office assets.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants

I had the honour of being featured on the cover of Construction Week magazine this month. It was an incredibly interesting interview with the magazine’s dynamic editor, Jayashree Kini-Mendez.

Here are some excerpts:

What the Indian real estate sector requires today

In my opinion, only disruption can save the day for the Indian real estate sector. Both because of the groundbreaking policy reforms now in place and the changing mindset of real estate consumers, the old ways of doing business simply cannot prevail any longer.

What is required are new ideas, new ways of conducting business, and a far greater focus on accountability and transparency than has been evidenced by the industry so far. ANAROCK Property Consultants is a new benchmark for impeccable values, corporate governance and customer-focus in the Indian real estate space.

On my entrepreneurial streak

If one has it, the entrepreneurial streak is not something that will be denied for very long. I had to fulfil my obligations to my previous firm in the manner which the role required of me,

One Year Of GST – Good, Bad Or Ugly For Real Estate?

Green Buildings – An Imperative, Not A Choice

The Low-Down On Compact Homes In Mumbai

Amended Bankruptcy Code Deals An Ace To Homebuyers

The Rise And Rise Of Indian Malls

How RERA Is Revolutionizing Indian Real Estate

The Logical Way of Seeing Real Estate Price Corrections

Mumbai DP 2034 Receives the Government’s Nod

Now Trending – Commercial Real Estate

The Quiet Iconoclast – A Cover Story In Construction Week (April 2018)