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Within a span of six months since the new Government took over, there is a growing positivity among the real estate sector that can now hope for a new phase of growth: be it in the commercial or the residential segments. The Government has taken many steps to create an environment of growth for the sector. The policies have been two-pronged, which includes providing greater access to funding on the one hand and extending liquidity to the end-user to strengthen affordability. Both steps would lead to a balance of demand and supply in the near future.
The Indian government has allowed foreign direct investment of up to 100% under the automatic route in real estate projects. This will be for housing, townships, commercial and industrial construction to boost infrastructure activities in India. There is provision for reduction in the area from 50,000 sq m to 20,000 sq m and reduction in minimum capitalisation for FDI investment from $10 million to $5 million. This will help boost urbanisation, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, which were struggling to develop large projects. Making them smaller and more manageable will attract FDI and expertise in setting up new townships and cities.
The Indian real estate sector is one of the most globally recognised sectors. In the country, it is the second largest employer after agriculture and is slated to grow at 30 per cent over the next decade. It comprises four sub sectors - housing, retail, hospitality, and commercial. The growth of this sector is well complemented by the growth of the corporate environment and the demand for office space as well as urban and semi-urban accommodations.
According to a study by ICRA, the construction industry ranks third among the 14 major sectors in terms of direct, indirect and induced effects in all sectors of the economy.
It is also expected that this sector will incur more non-resident Indian (NRI) investments in the near future, as a survey by an industry body has revealed a 35 per cent surge in the number of enquiries with property dealers. Bengaluru is expected to be the most favoured property investment destination for NRIs, followed by Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Goa, Delhi and Dehradun.
Market Size
The Indian real estate market size is expected to touch US$ 180 billion by 2020. The housing sector alone contributes 5-6 per cent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Also, in the period FY08-20, the market size of this sector is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.2 per cent. Retail, hospitality and commercial real estate are also growing significantly, providing the much-needed infrastructure for India's growing needs.
Real estate has emerged as the second most active sector, raising US$ 1.2 billion from private equity (PE) investors in the last 10 months.
Foreign investors have bought tenanted office space worth over US$ 2 billion in India in 2014, a four-fold rise compared to the previous year, in order to increase their rent-yielding commercial assets in Asia's third largest economy.
According to a study by Knight Frank, Mumbai is the best city in India for commercial real estate investment, with returns of 12-19 per cent likely in the next five years, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). Also, Delhi-NCR was the biggest office market in India with 110 million sq ft, out of which 88 million sq ft were occupied. Sectors such as IT and ITeS, retail, consulting and e-commerce have registered high demand for office space in recent times.
Delhi’s Central Business District (CBD) of Connaught Place has been ranked as the sixth most expensive prime office market in the world with occupancy costs at US$ 160 per sq ft per annum, according to a survey by CBRE.
Investment
The Indian real estate sector has witnessed high growth in recent times with the rise in demand for office as well as residential spaces.
Blackstone Group Lp is all set to become the largest owner of commercial office real estate in India after a three-year acquisition drive in which it spent US$ 900 million to buy prime assets.
According to data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the construction development sector in India has received foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows to the tune of US$ 24,012.87 million in the period April 2000-December 2014.
Some of the major investments in this sector are as follows :
Government Initiatives
Under the Sardar Patel Urban Housing Mission, 30 million houses will be built by 2022, mostly for the economically weaker sections and low-income groups, through public-private-partnership (PPP), interest subsidy and increased flow of resources to housing sector', according to Mr M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India.
The Government of India along with the governments of the respective states have taken several initiatives to encourage the development in the sector. Some of them are as follows :
Road Ahead
Responding to an increasingly well-informed consumer and keeping in mind the globalization of the Indian business outlook, real estate developers have also shifted gears and accepted fresh challenges.
The most marked change has been the shift from family owned businesses to professionally managed ones. Real estate developers, in meeting the growing need for managing multiple projects across cities, are investing in centralized processes to source material and organize manpower and hiring qualified professionals in areas like project management, architecture and engineering.
The growing flow of FDI into Indian real estate is encouraging increased transparency. Developers, in order to attract funding, have revamped their accounting and management systems to meet due diligence standards.
NMG fosters a corporate culture of entrepreneurship, creativity and unconventional approaches. The result – an always evolving, vertically integrated group of companies that encompass every step of the property process through business and real estate acquisition, financing, leasing, development, management and maintenance.
Winston Churchill, a leader of outstanding qualities, once said,
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."