The CP story is very old, one that spans about 50 years or more. It was NCR’s central business district (CBD). It is still probably the CBD. But office space in CP is stagnated. The new business districts such as Cybercity, GCR, Aerocity and GCE are growing at a rapid pace, meeting an enormous demand for commercial office space. Now, it’s a tale of two cities- Delhi and Gurgaon.
Steady economic growth, favourable policy environment, growing preference of global occupiers for Indian offices and listing of first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in the country have put the India office market on a growth path, according to the half yearly update (H1 2019 – January to June 2019) by JLL India.
Rising transparency levels, progressive regulations, and a robust commercial real estate market in the country have made the segment a favorite among institutional investors, it says. Investors have allocated nearly USD 17 bn in the form of direct investments as well as through entity level investments from 2006 to 2019 in the office space.
Various Government-driven policies including ease of doing business in India are attracting both Indian and global companies, squarely benefiting commercial real estate. Big-bang boosters like the start-up revolution and the Make in India and Smart Cities missions have created a very lucrative environment for businesses to work and expand in India.
About 40% of all the new launches in 2018 were under the affordable segment. Cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and NCR witnessed maximum launches in the affordable segment that is below INR5 million. Mumbai on the other hand witnessed more launches in the mid segment housing, in the range of INR 5-10 million.
Young qualified professionals either do not opt for the sector, and even when they do so, they find it hard to continue in a business where the eco system is all about probability and uncertainty; forget about the lack of work culture. And hence, in most of the corporate offices of the developers it is easy to find old and grey-haired people than the vibrancy of the young work force.
While 2018 lived up to a fair number of expectations, there were a few misses too, particularly in the case of clarity on GST norms. Key highlights of 2018 were the creation of positive sentiments in the market by way of a robust office space absorption by emerging segments, as well as increase in the number of new launches and sales in the affordable housing sector.
Year 2018 was a veritable roller-coaster ride for the Indian real estate. Despite signs of recovery across segments, the liquidity crunch – further exacerbated by the NBFC crisis – put all industry stakeholders on tenterhooks.
This growth is witnessed across five major cities – Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Bengaluru and Pune, where 4000 homebuyers were surveyed by 360 Realtors to understand buying trends. One of the key driving factors for the increase in investor interest is the impact of policies such as RERA. Assured rentals and EMI payouts after possession, offered by developers have also significantly boosted investor confidence.
The Indian residential market volumes spiraled down in terms of demand and supply almost every successive year in this decade. From a high of 480,000 units in 2010, the supply last year stood at mere 103,000 units across the top 8 cities.