The report of an impending housing recession in the US housing market is a worrying factor for a section of analysts in India. As per the reports coming out of the US market, the pricing remains firm but the sales have slowed down. As per a report by the NAR (National Association of Realtors), the home sales have slowed down for six consecutive months in July. Track2Realty reports.
Isn’t it ironic that in a country where housing shortage is at the core of policy debates, housing surplus in top Indian cities is juxtaposed to that. As a matter of fact, the reality of unsold housing units poses an even greater degree of imbalance than the housing shortage. But then unsold inventory is a symptom and not the cause of malaise in the housing market of the country. A Track2Realty report.
I meet a number of stakeholders across the built environment of Indian real estate. One common narrative that has gained ground within the built environment over the years is that “this is the best time to buy a house.” Mind you! This narrative was being pushed through the throat even before Covid. Even though the real estate market in general and the housing market in particular has been going through a turbulent phase, the narrative has never changed its course.
News reports of real estate nowadays is making me religious. The reports about Supertech Twin Tower demolition is giving me “SPIRITUAL” feeling. If these media reports are to be believed, henceforth all the government officials will be careful in sanctioning the building plans, builders will be fearful with the law and the judiciary will be trusted as more pro-active than reactive. Isn’t it a proverbial “Ram Rajya” for the home buyers?
Ramneek Patel, an MNC executive in Gurugram is on a company leased accommodation and the HR is deducting INR 40,000 per month for his rented apartment. Now that the Goods & Service Tax (GST) has been imposed for rental residential units to companies, he has been told by the company that the said liability will be passed on to the employees living in company leased apartments. They can otherwise find an apartment on their own.
The real estate developers across the country might be living in denial but the distress sale is a predominant reality in the Indian housing market. More and more Indian home buyers are actually getting better deals in the resale market. This is leading to a stressful situation for the developers reeling with the inventory overhang and yet not ready to cut down the prices.
The statistics are scary for any salaried class across the cities of India who has an EMI to pay for his home purchase. The Indian Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the real estate would be witness to 65% defaults from the buyers of under construction projects due to Coronavirus hit lockdown. The estimation is not without its logical reasons. A CII snap poll of the CEOs finds that 52 percent of the companies surveyed foresee job losses, in their respective sectors.
In the ‘golden years’ of India’s housing market, property was the default go-to option for big-ticket investment. With real estate’s fading allure, investors began exploring other options and found them to quite rewarding. For instance, they can invest in a start-up with sums as ‘low’ as INR 10 lakhs. Many entrepreneurially-inclined Indians find the potential ROI (as high as 15% in many instances) makes more sense. Mutual funds provide good returns and the entry level is low enough to be affordable to many.
The share of mid-market houses costing INR 20-50 lakh in the overall residential sales in the country has been progressively rising, touching an all-time high of 42 percent of total transactions in the second half of the current financial year 2018-19, according to data released today by India’s largest marketplace for new homes Square Yards.
Mumbai, as a matter of fact, demands rental housing to be promoted as the feasibility of such an option provides a broad choice of homes to both the investors as well as the expat professionals. The recent economic turmoil also underscored the many advantages of renting and raised the barriers to home ownership, sparking a surge in demand that has buoyed rental markets across the MMR.