M Murali, Chairman and Managing Director of Shriram properties, said that the General Elections in 2019 may impair the decision making process of a small section of home buyers till May-June 2019. He explained that this would happen eventhough they were no longer in the mood to ‘wait and watch’.

“Another key factor which will impact the realty sector in 2019 will be the rise of new age home buyers. Understanding this opportunity, real estate players today are coming forth with new concepts of projects like integrated living,” he added.

“This is supported by the changing buyer preferences, which is altering the landscape of the real estate market. As cities become more crowded, developers are looking at evolving areas in a way that customers would love to live in it. This has led to an optimal usage of a given area in a congested city to provide home buyers with a sense of exclusivity,” explained Murali.

Talking about 2018, Murali said, “In 2018, mid-income and affordable housing drew a lot of interest and accounted for 65-70 per cent of the demand. Projects nearing completion and ready-to-move-in apartments also saw better traction this year. In addition, Government schemes announced in 2017-18 such as ‘housing for all’ served as an accelerator to the sector, particularly for mid -market and affordable housing categories.”

The real estate industry had its own share of turbulence in the form of the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) crisis and the consequent liquidity crunch faced by some of the marginal developers.

“This also includes the reluctance of commercial banks towards incremental lending and the increase in the interest rates. On the other hand, execution capabilities, financial strength and ability of the developers determined their prospects and performance during the year 2018, thereby, proving that only strong developers can thrive over the long term,” Murali said.

comment COMMENT NOW