As India embarks on another year of independence, the country’s real estate sector has a lot to be grateful for, a lot to hope for – and still a lot to worry about.
Amidst the dual challenges of liquidity crisis and stuck projects that hang like persistent thunderclouds over the sector, we nevertheless inch closer to the ultimate goal of Housing for All by 2022.
From the viewpoint of stuck and delayed projects, the freedom to buy homes has turned into shackles for many.
Over 1.74 lakh homes in 220 projects across the top seven cities are completely stalled. Housing worth over INR 1.77 lakh Crore is in limbo with zero construction activity.
The affected buyers exercised their freedom of choice – only to see their hard-earned money imprisoned with scarce prospects of parole until recently.
Nevertheless, this state of affairs is not unilateral and countless more Indians have indeed successfully achieved freedom from rent.
Though not nearly as fast as can be hoped for, housing sales are picking up. In sharp contrast to earlier years,
Along with the resale homes market, luxury housing took the hardest hit after demonetization. The Government’s continued focus on affordable housing coupled with the surgical strike on high-value currency denominations in November 2016 took the sheen off luxury housing for two years in a row.
As per ANAROCK data, housing sales in NCR cities collectively saw a quarterly decline of 8% - the least amongst all top cities - while the yearly rise stood at 13% in the region.
India's lacklustre response to student housing stands in sharp contrast to the UK, US and Australia, where it's an evolved, profitable real estate segment.
