India Property – Page 22

Indian Real Estate Welcomes The Overdue Repo Rate Cut

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

RBI’s decision to slash the repo rate by 25 basis point to 6.25 % is a welcome and unexpectedly positive move, given the sops that the recent expansionary budget gave to farmers at an additional cost of Rs 75,000 crore per annum.

It was also overdue, as this has been the first cut in a long time. It definitely augurs well for the real estate sector which also received a budget bonanza in the previous week.

Rate cuts give a substantial push to property buyer sentiments, and it was certainly high time for such a cut.

Home loan interest rates increased by as much as 5-7% in the last year because the RBI hiked its repo rates by 50 basis points over the same period. In other words, home loans had become a more expensive proposition.

However, the real estate market does not depend only on marginally improved buyer sentiment – there are larger issues that hold the sector hostage right now.

The liquidity issues post the NBFC crisis are a bigger concern. NBFCs and HFCs have seriously curtailed disbursements to developers.

by Arun Chitnis

PRESS RELEASE

Chennai Overtakes Bengaluru, Unsold Inventory Less Than 50% Of IT Capital – ANAROCK Report

Chennai’s current unsold housing stock at 30,800 units against 73,300 units in Bangalore
Avg. property prices lowest in 4 years at INR 4,900 per sq. ft.
72% new supply in last 6 years in under INR 80 lakh budget range
PE investment increased by 15% in 2018 against 2017

Chennai, 4th February 2019: Bucking all odds including political uncertainty and a major natural calamity, Chennai has trumped southern counterpart Bengaluru in terms of upbeat residential real estate activity.

ANAROCK‘s report ‘Chennai: From Resilience to Growth‘ confirms that the city is only behind Hyderabad in unsold stock numbers, and has the second-lowest unsold housing inventory of India’s top 7 cities in India.

As the event’s knowledge partner, ANAROCK released the report at RECON, an initiative by Tamil Nadu Real Estate Consultants Association, in Chennai today.

Anuj Puri, Chairman –

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The interim budget was more or less a vote bank-facing exercise – an electoral pitch that drew attention to past achievements.

Vote-bank directed announcements included benefits to 12-crore small farmers via credit of INR 6k/year directly into their bank accounts, and also to 10 crore labourers by way of direct pension bonanza.

Direct and indirect positives for the real estate sector

Boost to Affordable Homes:

People earning up to 5 lakhs will get a full tax rebate. However, if one invests in specified Government saving schemes then the tax exemption extends to Rs. 6.5 lakhs. This can have good implications for affordable housing, but not really on the mid-income housing.

The Government also extended the benefit of tax exemption for developers by 1 more year, up to 2020 now. This, too, will give a push to the affordable housing segment.

Electricity for all by 2019 could have positive implications by making more far-flung areas liveable and therefore more viable for affordable housing.

The standard deduction for the salaried class was raised from Rs.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Of the total current 6.73 lakh unsold units across top 7 cities, approx. 85,000 are ready-to-move-in
NCR & MMR together account for 54% total unsold RTM homes
Hyderabad has least unsold RTM stock priced below Rs. 80 Lakh with approx. 3,040 units

Indians looking to buy homes in 2019 have a very compelling rationale to opt for ready-to-move (RTM) homes, which – apart from being exempt of the 12% GST ambit – are available plentifully.

As per ANAROCK data, out of the total 6.73 lakh units of unsold housing inventory, nearly 85,000 units are currently ready-to-move-in across the top 7 cities. Interestingly, out of these total unsold ready-to-move options, nearly 60% of units are in the affordable and mid segments priced below Rs. 80 lakh.

RTM quotient of Unsold Stock

Cities	Total Unsold Units Approx.	RTM Units Approx.	RTM % of Total Unsold Units
Bangalore	73,340	12,000	16%
Chennai	30,840	8,800	29%
Pune	87,440	8,600	10%
Kolkata	49,470	5,400	11%
NCR	1,86,710	23,500	13%
MMR	2,19,490	22,300	10%
Hyderabad	25,960	4,400	17%
PAN India	6,73,210	85,000	13%

Source: ANAROCK Research (RTM= Ready-to-move-in)

Currently,

by Shajai Jacob

Shajai Jacob, CEO – GCC, ANAROCK Property Consultants

Regulations for property acquisitions by NRIs
Returns on investment in different real estate asset classes
Documentation, home loans, tax implications compliances
Best cities and micro-markets in which to invest

Whether the real estate market remains bullish or bearish, NRIs prefer a place back in India – not just for investment returns but also to remain rooted in their country of origin.

Previously, NRIs (like most other buyers and investors) had every reason to be leery of the Indian real estate market. Today, game-changing policies like RERA and GST have now boosted confidence and transparency and streamlined the property-buying process for NRIs.

This has begun fuelling new NRI investments into the Indian property market. The fact that the rupee value against dollar depreciated in 2018 was also a sound reason for NRIs to view Indian real estate more favourably.

And, of course, developers have been offering substantial freebies and even discounts, apart from interesting payment plans, to draw NRIs as well as domestic buyers to their projects.

by Arun Chitnis

PRESS RELEASE

ANAROCK Bags Exclusive Mandate for Swaminarayan City in Mumbai’s Dombivali

Limited-edition housing at Mumbai’s latest major pilgrimage destination

Mumbai, 25 January 2019 – Leading real estate services provider ANAROCK Property Consultants today announced that it has accepted an exclusive mandate to market 550 limited-edition flats in Swaminarayan City at Dombivali West, Mumbai.

The project, which leverages excellent location along with a high spiritual aspiration quotient, is spread over 148 acres in Retigaon in Dombivali (West) – one of Mumbai’s fastest-growing suburbs. Its proximity to the Ulhas river offers unmatched views of this famous water body.

Bappaditya Basu, Director & Head – Channel Partner Business, ANAROCK Property Consultants says, “The project’s USP may be seen to be that it abuts India’s largest Swaminarayan Temple coming up over 14 acres in Dombivali.

However, Swaminarayan City also provides exceptionally high location value. In fact, the mounting housing demand in Dombivali had prompted the launch of nearly 2,960 new units in 2018.

Easy connectivity via local trains,

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Redevelopment is a fact of life in any ageing, land-starved metropolitan city. In India, no city defines this dynamic quite as accurately as Mumbai.

The conventional norm of redevelopment in India involves appointing developers to redevelop old and dilapidated housing projects.

However, several housing societies in Mumbai are now contemplating self-redevelopment instead. We can dispense with the usual metaphor ‘not as easy as it sounds’ – this does not sound easy by any definition, and it isn’t.

Broadly, some homeowner groups are now taking the route of appointing their own architects, contractors and project management consultants to execute the redevelopment of their projects.

These can be single stand-alone buildings or housing societies of more than one building. For funding self-redevelopment, the owner collective will invariably opt for bank loans.

The Benefits of Self-Redevelopment

For redevelopment by any means, homeowner groups are motivated by the prospect of larger, more secure homes with vastly improved facilities and amenities.

The only reason why a developer would undertake redevelopment is obviously that he gets a massive stake in the whole undertaking.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

This is, without doubt, a very favourable market for homebuyers looking to purchase properties for their own use. One of the obvious reasons is the abundance of options in all categories of housing to pick from.

Also, property rates have reduced considerably across cities. Nevertheless, many fence-sitting buyers still hope for further corrections.

There may still be scope for some marginal rate corrections in certain depressed markets – but as we often say in the industry, timing the market is a game only investors should play. There are no guarantees for when, where and even if corrections will occur.

Certainly, a whole country’s real estate market does not witness synchronized corrections like on the stock market, where everyone is affected simultaneously and to the same extent.

For genuine homebuyers who recognize a good thing when they see it and can call it good enough, it has certainly never been a better time.

The Government has also provided several incentives for first-time homebuyers, especially in the budget homes category, and developers are rolling out year-round attractions in their keenness to close transactions.

by Anuj Puri

PRESS RELEASE

A significant drop from 47 months of inventory overhang in Q4 2017
NCR still constitutes 52 months’ inventory overhang; Bengaluru & Hyderabad at an all-time low of 17 months each
Sales exceed the number of units launched the second year in a row
property sizes across the top 7 cities shrink by 8% compared to 2017 & 19% since 2016

Mumbai, 15 January 2019: Despite all headwinds including the liquidity crisis in 2018, housing sales rose by 18% and new launches by 33% across the top 7 cities compared to 2017. Residential inventory overhang reduced to a year-low from 47 months in Q4 2017 to 33 months in Q4 2018 across the top 7 cities.

The DeMo effect in late 2016 had pushed up unsold inventory to 47 months in Q4 2017 from 40 months in Q4 2016. An inventory overhang of 18-24 months signifies a fairly healthy market.

“Having absorbed a lot of the impact of various structural changes, the Indian real estate sector seemed poised to grow from the previous year,” says Anuj Puri,

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Benefits aside, a cut could have been a major setback to the affordable housing segment
GST rate cut, clarity on / abolition of ITC – boosted demand vs. actual sales

After much anticipation, the GST Council has failed to deliver a final verdict on GST applicable on real estate – but how much would it really have mattered?

Here’s a Utopian vision – the government would announce a GST rate cut, homebuyers would cheer up since prices would reduce marginally, and the market revives. Really?

The biggest paradox in Indian real estate is that numbers suggest a massive burden of unsold housing stock in the midst of a chronic shortage of housing. As long as prices don’t reduce significantly, the housing shortage will only widen regardless of tax sops.

What we have today is a nation of aspiring homebuyers, many of which are perpetually on the fence, waiting for a slew of minor policy windfalls to cumulatively make a home purchase feasible and attractive.

Indian Real Estate Welcomes The Overdue Repo Rate Cut

Chennai Overtakes Bengaluru, Unsold Inventory Less Than 50% Of IT Capital – ANAROCK Report

Interim Budget 2019: Affordable Housing Gains Amidst High Electoral Pitch

Unsold Inventory: 60% Ready-To-Move Homes Priced Below Rs 80 Lakh

NRIs, Know The Score Before Buying A Property In India

ANAROCK Bags Exclusive Mandate for Swaminarayan City in Mumbai’s Dombivali

Self-Redevelopment – The Future Of Mumbai Real Estate?

Is It The Right Time To Buy A Home In India?

Unsold Inventory Hits 2-Year Low In Q4 2018 – ANAROCK

GST on Real Estate Maintains Status Quo