India Real Estate – Page 28

Interim Budget 2019 – Let’s Not Get Too Excited

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The interim budget may focus on wooing voters rather than boosting specific industries
PMAY and employment shortfalls must be addressed
Funding announcements without implementation guidelines will not suffice

Before every annual Budget, the real estate sector trots out a highly optimistic (and unrealistic) wish list to the Finance Ministry.

Whether the industry actually expects the upcoming Budget to cure all its woes with a wave of its magic wand is beside the point. Unrealistic expectations – many completely outside the purview of the Finance Ministry – have become the norm.

Single-window clearance, industry status and hiked tax exemptions limits which will miraculously revive demand for properties have become the usual suspects in such wish lists.

Let’s be rational in our expectations from an interim budget which is announced shortly before general elections.

Though the larger ‘acche din’ premise is debated to the present day, the first Union Budget under the Modi Government in 2014 was certainly a harbinger of change for buyers and builders.

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.

by Santhosh Kumar

Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Don’t expect all available options to be available online
The ‘hidden’ costs of renting a home
The elements of a sound rental agreement

The Government’s much-touted aim to deliver Housing for All by 2022 may not have met with spectacular success in terms of on-ground deployment, but it was certainly a very effective electoral promise. Housing is a sensitive subject in India, precisely because so many people don’t have it. Such an electoral promise was bound to draw attention – and hope.

Providing a self-owned home to every Indian household in the promised timeline seems unlikely. Building enough dedicated rental housing and backing it with a sound rental housing policy could have brought this electoral promise closer to its goal. However, there has been little progress on this front beyond the discussion stage, either.

While a large number of Indians do hope to live in self-owned homes someday, renting homes is still the default option for many. For some, rental housing is seen as a temporary measure until the dream of homeownership is fulfilled.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

A possible GST rate cut at the very beginning of 2019 could bring in the much-needed respite for the Indian residential sector, which is still reeling from reformatory changes.

Though ANAROCK data indicates that sales numbers picked up by nearly 16% in 2018, sales are still far from their peak levels.

The ongoing 12% GST rate levied on under-construction properties has proved to be a major deterrent for homebuyers, who understandably shied away from this added burden on their finances.

ANAROCK’s consumer sentiment survey also confirms that the prevailing GST rate has prevented as many as 49% of property seekers from buying under-construction homes liable for GST. They preferred ready-to-move-in homes that were exempt from this tax.

To attract home buyers and kick-start a more convincing revival of the residential sector, the GST Council is now considering reducing the GST rate for under-construction homes during its next meet in January 2019.

In fact, this move was expected in December 2018; nevertheless implemented, it will be a perfect New Year bonanza for millions of aspiring homebuyers looking to buy under-construction homes in the coming year.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

If you are looking to buy a property or have already invested in one, you will know that there are tax implications involved. Let’s first examine the tax on property purchase and then elaborate on how one can save on it via tax exemptions and deductions.

To begin with, the taxation on property purchase has become much simpler than it was before. With the roll-out of GST, all taxes previously applicable on real estate purchase (VAT, Service Tax etc.) have been subsumed under this single unified tax system.

The overall costs involved in buying a property are broadly divided into two components – the first being the one paid to the builder/seller and other – the statutory and legal costs – to the government.

While the former roughly comprises 80-85% of the overall property cost, the remaining 15-20% goes as taxes to the government coffers.

So, are the taxes same for both under construction and ready-to-move-in properties? The answer is ‘No.’

Taxes for Under-Construction Properties

Statutory and legal costs for under-construction properties vary between 15-20%,

by Anuj Puri

New housing supply estimated at 1,93,600 units by 2018 end; an annual increase of 32%
Housing sales in 2018 estimated at 2,45,500 units; an annual increase of 16%
NBFC crisis holds sector at gunpoint as 2019 begins

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The year 2018 was a veritable roller-coaster ride for Indian real estate. Despite signs of recovery across segments, the liquidity crunch – further exacerbated by the NBFC crisis – put all industry stakeholders on tenterhooks.

Consolidation via mergers and acquisitions was rife in all sectors, completely redefining the concept of ‘financial health’ among players and drawing clear lines on who will survive the heat. This process will continue throughout 2019, as well.

Despite all odds, economic indicators remained positive with India’s GDP growth rate pegged at 7.3% in 2018. CPI inflation, a major concern in the past, remained reined in at a manageable 4.8%.

GDP growth and contained inflation are generally considered panacea for most real estate woes. However, it took a lot more than that for real estate to retain even a semblance of an even keel in 2018.

by Prashant Thakur

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 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.

Interim Budget 2019 – Let’s Not Get Too Excited

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

GST on Real Estate Maintains Status Quo

Renting Instead of Buying a Home? Here’s How To Get It Right

GST Rate Cut in 2019 – A New Year Gift for Homebuyers?

Taxes on Property Purchase – And How to Save On Them

The Highs And Lows Of Indian Real Estate In 2018

Is Luxury Housing Losing the Plot To Affordable Housing?

Unchanged Repo Rates Astute From All Angles

RERA Deployment: Still Thin, But Complaints Galore