The country’s real estate sector is passing through a phase of consolidation post the demonetisation, the Union Budget and changes in the regulatory environment, according to Gitamber Anand, National President of real estate body Credai.

In an exclusive interaction with BusinessLine , the Credai President said: “The sector, which had faced a number of headwinds in the past, is seeking to shrug off legacy issues and going on to become a more organised segment.”

“As realty braces up to the new GST regime, the focus is on consolidation. The organised real estate segment is seeking to address huge demand for housing in the seven major metros and tier II-III3 cities, together seen to have a demand for about 60 million houses,” he explained.

Fair business approach The housing shortfall is likely to be there for the next 5-10 years. Both commercial and retail segments too, will see increased offtake as the economy is projected to sustain its current growth momentum. The housing sector faces the legacy of a perception that it has a huge component of cash transaction. With a member base of over 12,000, Credai is seeking to address this by fair pricing, transparency and is being aided by purchase of property by raising loans, he said.

“This fair business approach will play a major role in attracting investments too, into the sector,” he felt.

Post note ban, from January, things are getting back to normalcy and February has been good.

“We believe the sector will grow steadily over the next 12-18 months. The prices too, have stabilised and in some segments have also retracted by about 15-20 per cent,” he explained.

The issue of trust deficit is being pro-actively addressed and buyers are getting to gain from the new norms, drop in home loan rates and encouragement from the government, all translating to lower overall costs in the long run, he said. “The year 2017 will see a slow run up in terms of increase in sales. There is not much land left in good locations in major cities. This means, when things get better, and demand goes up, prices will spiral up,” he said.

The affordable housing segment, whose definition has changed over the years to cover housing up to ₹65 lakh, would be a major focus area for most developers and become a demand driver for high volume and lower margin business.

Major job creator Referring to GST, he said, “We hope to be placed under the lower slab. The real estate and construction sector, which employs over five crore people, is the second largest job creator after agriculture.

“The growth of this sector will play a big role in the growth of the country’s economy and help create jobs.”

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