Real estate to contribute 18-20% of the country’s GDP, says NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

The last 18 months have been challenging for India, and the economy in general, and the real estate sector was not left untouched. However, we see a silver lining as the vaccination rate has picked up and the infections are slowly coming down. Securities and Exchange Board of India has already approved the Real Estate Investment Trust Platform, which will create an opportunity worth INR 1.25 trillion in the coming years. The GOI, along with several states, has taken initiatives to encourage redevelopment in the sector. The smart city project with a plan to build 100 cities is a prime opportunity for real estate companies,” said Guest of honour, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, while speaking at the 13th Edition of Confederation of Indian Industry ‘Realty & Infrastructure Conclave 2021’.

“In recent quarters, the real estate sector has made a significant rebound, giving stakeholders reason to be positive about the future. Everything changed in 2020, and 2021 will be the year when resilience, digital insurgency, and innovation help to improve change. While 2021 may not be able to overcome all of the pandemic’s obstacles, the groundwork for a sector-wide recovery has already been prepared.” says Manpreet Singh Wason, Director, Masters Infra .

The sector has been performing extremely well, especially after June 2021. According to Real Insight (Residential): July – September (Q3) 2021, a quarterly industry report by REA India-owned online real estate company PropTiger.com, home sales and new launches have both shown a significant improvement in the period between July and September 2021, indicating that a turn-around for the real estate sector might be around the corner. According to the reports, a total of 55,907 new housing units were sold in eight primary markets during the three-month period, showing an upswing of 59% when compared to the same period in 2020.

“In the residential market, the shift from an investor to end-user began a few years ago, and with COVID, the scale has tipped even more towards end-users. Since COVID, end-user interest has risen primarily due to the Government’s and RBI’s efforts to establish an all-time low home loan interest rate regime. Investors have turned their focus to the commercial segment because of the better return on investment (ROI) and capital appreciation given by these assets. Although PE/VC investments decreased in 2020, the overall scenario remained tough. However, when the market picks up speed, we anticipate an influx of capital,” says Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India Ltd.

The Government has announced various schemes to boost the real estate sector, especially the residential segment; these schemes translated into boosting the sector. The Honourable Finance Minister launched the Atmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0, which includes tax relief measures for real estate developers and home buyers. The Government has also announced the establishment of an Alternative Investment Fund, an Affordable Housing Fund, and a National Housing Bank, each with an initial corpus of INR 35,000 crores, to provide microfinance to housing finance firms.

“A number of steps have been implemented by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Government to aid the real estate sector. The Government advised states to classify COVID-19 as a Force Majeure event, which many did while extending the project completion deadline, providing much-needed respite to real estate developers. The RBI reduced the policy repo rate and the reverse repo rate to make house loans more accessible to homeowners. Many large banks and housing finance organisations are now offering low-interest home loans, which is increasing the number of people who take out home loans,” says Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing & President – CREDAI Haryana.

The sector maintains a prominent position in nation-building since real estate has a multiplier effect on the country’s economy and ecosystem. By 2030, the sector is predicted to have grown to a market size of USD 1 trillion and contribute 18-20% of the country’s GDP.

“Consumers are optimistic about the sector, and it has eclipsed gold, stocks, fixed deposits, and other investment options as the most preferred asset class. Consumers are likely to continue their home-buying search after the festival season has arrived, after deferring it for over a year during the first wave. Given the increased relevance of owning a home during the pandemic, and all-time low home loan interest rates, consumer sentiment will stay positive in the next quarters, providing an overall optimistic picture for the sector,” says Dhiraj Bora, Head – Marketing & Communication, Paramount Group.