Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants

Consolidation is the process of combining a number of separate parts into a single, more effective or coherent one. Whenever there is consolidation in any sector, the general perception is that everything is going down the drain.

However, the reality is that this process usually happens at the fag end of an industry downturn and actually helps in catalyzing a much stronger come-back.

The real estate sector is a clear case in point. It is emerging from a prolonged slowdown coupled with landmark policy inputs which have begun to edge out the ‘small fry’ – essentially creating an environment of large-scale consolidation of tier II and III developers. This dynamic alone will define 2018 as a year of massive positive change for Indian real estate.

In 2017, the overall Indian economy and the real estate sector, in particular, were well and truly shaken up by a series of unprecedented reforms and structural changes.

Without a doubt, demonetization, RERA and GST will go down in the annals of Indian real estate history as the ‘trishul