Anuj Puri – Page 50 – Indian Real Estate Redefined

Why Improved Ease of Doing Business Will Boost Real Estate Funding In India

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

India has registered a historic improvement in latest ranking for Doing Business, released on 31st October by the World Bank.

In fact, it is one of the top ten improvers for the current year assessment, thanks to the implementation of key reforms pertinent to 8 out of the 10 indicators that World Bank factors in for this index.

With the overall ranking of India in the Ease of Doing Business jumping from the 130th to the 100th place compared to previous assessment, India is the only large country displaying such a significant improvement. How has real estate performed in this improvement? Actually, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

India’s ranking for Dealing with Construction Permits has improved from 185 to 181, for Resolving Insolvency the improvement has been from 136 to 103, and for Paying Taxes from 172 to 119. However, on the parameter of Registering Property, it slipped 16 places from 138 to 154th.

The key reasons for the lower ranking in for this vital criterion when compared to other counties are the continuing multitude of procedures to follow and therefore more time developers have to spend in pursuing them.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants

We keep hearing of the ‘wait-and-watch’ or ‘fence-sitting’ syndrome on the residential property market, which basically means that a significant number of people who want to buy a home are not doing so.

Property buyers tend to wait and watch rather than buy for two or three reasons. One would be that they are waiting for a ‘price correction’ – a meaningful reduction in the prices developers quote for their properties. Regardless of whether their hopes are realistic or not, this fence-sitting’ dynamic is a definitely a fact.

It is also frequently said that buyers may also be waiting for lower interest rates on home loans. This is only partly true.

While they certainly play a role in overall buyer sentiment, especially in the affordable housing segment, lower interest rates alone are not a sufficiently compelling rationale for aspiring mid-range housing buyers to abandon their ‘wait-and-watch’ mode.

If, however, the lower interest rates coincide with a hard discount or some other money-saving offer, many people will certainly come onto the market with a firm intention to finally buy a home.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

From official acceptance to investment safety, crypto-currencies are nowhere near becoming viable tender to buy real estate in India.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been in the news a lot in recent times, often for the wrong reasons, but also because of the massive appreciation Bitcoin has been clocking up.

To top it off, real estate has now been dragged into the Bitcoin controversy, with a handful of projects in some parts of the US and Dubai actually inviting investments via the Bitcoin route.

With the ongoing slump in sales, is it possible that developers in India will offer such an option to prospective buyers as well? Let us take a closer look at this.

We should begin by understanding that the viability of any currency as a means with which to transact in real estate in India obviously depends on whether or not the RBI and Government recognize that currency as valid tender in the country.

So far, that is not the case with Bitcoin.

by Sukhdeep Aurora

Sukhdeep Aurora, Chief People Officer – ANAROCK Property Consultants

As an industry in the midst of major churn, Indian real estate is now headed towards yet another crossroad.

The previous crossroad – the industry shakeup initiated by the rollout of RERA – necessitated changes in business models and traditional cash flows of developers.

This one will demand newer skill sets and be all about setting tech-savvy, erudite, professional brokers head and shoulders above the kind that has dominated the industry so far.

In terms of career growth, the sky will be the limit for a new breed of brokers who have taken a conscious call to evolve; to up-skill or perish will be two choices left to those who have not.

Technology continues to disrupt a sector that is already en route to achieving unprecedented transparency levels on the back of the latest policy changes, and the Indian real estate sector is also gaining greater global exposure.

More than ever before, foreign investors are focusing on the country’s housing industry, along with NRIs who have been exposed to international standards of doing business.

by Prashant Thakur

Prashant Thakur, Head – Research, Anarock Property Consultants

When a location in Mumbai holds the three aces of accessibility, affordability and appreciation potential and completes its hand with good social infrastructure and workplace hub integration, it can justifiably lay claim the coveted property investment hotspot tag. Kanjurmarg can – and does…

Mumbai, the financial capital of India, is legendary for its massive employment opportunities, and as a result, the city’s population has been on a constant rise. Previously, the island city was the dominant hub of commercial and residential developments.

However, over the last few decades, rising property prices and saturation of the island city has pushed real estate developments towards the suburbs and further along the peripheral areas. The biggest advantage for the suburbs to evolve as key real estate destinations is excellent connectivity through the suburban railway network.

The Saga of Mumbai’s Suburbs

Real estate activity in the western suburbs has increased substantially in the recent decades due to the establishment of commercial office complexes in the Andheri-Goregaon-Malad belt. Enhanced connectivity via the Western Express highway helped in the region’s development as a key office market of the city.

by Anuj Puri

“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Over the past one year, demonetisation has been a buzzword across all Indian industries, but much more so in real estate.

The radical move of banning high-value currency notes, seen as the Government’s surgical strike on black money, has become a landmark event in the history of the Indian economy.

Looking back on Year 1 AD (After Demonetisation), it is plain to see that it has brought significant disruptions into the overall economy – and particularly the real estate sector.

The rolling out of key policy reforms such as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act [RERA] and the Goods and Services Tax [GST] compounded the aftermath effects of demonetization.

Although there was a lot of confusion and uncertainty immediately after demonetization, the shadow of this radical move now appears to be fading.

The long-term effects of demonetization on the real estate sector are aptly summed up by the wise words of the German philosopher,

by Anuj Puri

Maximum City’s real estate triumphs, tribulations and opportunities on the road to future-readiness

Mumbai, 2 November 2017: ANAROCK Property Consultants today released its research report ‘Mumbai Redefined’ in association with ACETECH – the world’s 3rd largest exhibition and Asia’s leading trade fair for architecture, building materials, innovation and design, driven by Economic Times.

The report was unveiled by Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, during the conference at Bombay Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai.

Mumbai is in the midst of major ongoing infrastructure upgrades, aimed at making the country’s financial capital more livable and ‘workable’.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

‘Infrastructure status’ typically helps to raise long-term funds at low rates and attract significant foreign investments.

The Government’s recent move to grant infrastructure status to the logistics sector is extremely progressive and will to make funding easy and cheap for companies that operate industrial parks, cold chains and warehousing facilities.

With massive investments likely to flow in the logistics sector, the Government’s plan to develop 35 MMLPs to serve as centres for freight aggregation and distribution, multimodal transportation, storage & warehousing and value-added services, is advancing in the right direction.

As per the Government’s notification dated 20th November 2017, logistics infrastructure was included by insertion of a new item in the renamed category of ‘Transport and Logistics’.

Logistics infrastructure includes Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) comprising Inland Container Depot (ICD) with a minimum investment of INR 50 crore and a minimum area of 10 acres, Cold Chain Facility with a minimum investment of INR 15 crore and a minimum area of 20,000 sq.ft., and/or Warehousing Facility with a minimum investment of INR 25 crore and a minimum area of 1 lakh sq.ft.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

The year 2017 has not exactly lived up to the expectations of the residential property sector. RERA has been deployed, but as of today, only 18 states and 7 Union territories have notified RERA, while 10 states are yet to notify it.

While RERA has certainly already made its expected effects felt in states like Maharashtra – which includes very important markets like Mumbai and Pune – it has not yet extended its full influence over parts of the country where RERA it is probably needed the most.

Though Haryana and UP have notified RERA, they are yet to set up the portal via which developers can upload their applications for registration of their projects. The web portal is also critical for buyers, as this is where they can check the details of projects. Also, these two states have come under heavy criticism for diluting the Centre’s RERA norms.

by Anuj Puri

Anuj Puri, Chairman – Anarock Property Consultants

Be it South Delhi, South Mumbai, South Chennai, South Kolkata or South Bangalore – the Southern parts of any metro city have always ranked at the top of that city’s property pyramid.

These precincts are generally seen as the most prime and posh residential destinations and have historically housed the Who’s Who of the city.

If one wants to announce oneself or one’s business socially, buying a home or opening an office in these parts has always been seen as a pretty good bet.

This phenomenon still continues; however, with the passage of time, newer areas are competing with these legacy areas and are attracting the younger rich and the neo-rich.

Different cities are seeing this happening, largely because of the extremely limited new supply of residences in prime neighborhoods.

However, where there is any availability, wealthy buyers will always prefer a home in the Southern part of a city.

Mumbai

In Mumbai’s case, south-central Mumbai has finally shed the image of the mill district and now has superlative trophy projects under construction.

Why Improved Ease of Doing Business Will Boost Real Estate Funding In India

Home Buying Tips: Examining the ‘Wait and Watch’ Syndrome

Will You Buy Real Estate With Bitcoin In India Anytime Soon?

What Skills Do Today’s Real Estate Brokers Need To Succeed?

Kanjurmarg – Mumbai’s ‘Can-Do’ Property Hotspot

One Year Of Demonetisation: Real Estate Bruised, But More Resilient

ANAROCK Launches Report ‘Mumbai Redefined’ At Economic Times’ ACETECH

A 2017 Festive Season Primer For Homebuyers

The Enduring Pull Of The Southern Parts Of Cities