Real-estate firms have welcomed the Goods and Services Tax Council's reforms, expecting better affordability for buyers, spurring demand. The council has reduced the rate on cement from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, while the rate on sand lime bricks or stone inlay work and granite blocks has been cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent.
Data centres are increasingly becoming a key part of the real estate landscape, as reality firms - with rich expertise in land acquisition, construction and dealing with government approvals - are seeing them as opportunities to build long-term assets with continuous revenue flow.
Housing demand should improve nationwide after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points (bps) on Friday, said real estate industry executives. The rate cut comes after housing sales in top Indian cities in the first quarter of 2025 dipped 28 per cent due to skyrocketing residential property prices and geopolitical headwinds, according to Anarock.
While demand for sub Rs 50-lakh affordable housing prevails, market players cite increased land rates, escalated construction costs and low margins as key prohibiting factors.
Office space owners are looking at good times ahead as rentals are expected to rise due to demand for Grade A office spaces outpacing supply that has been sluggish due to construction delays, long gestation periods and developers' interests shifting to residential.
India's flexible (flex) office segment, having breached pre-pandemic levels, is thriving as corporates, startups, multinational corporations, and global capability centres (GCCs) expand in India, seeking low-capital yet Grade A plug-and-play facilities. In the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, the flex office segment continued to grow, with flex space leasing rising by 22 per cent to 2.2 million square feet (msf), according to Colliers.
The total leasing of office space, which comprises demand for all grades of buildings, rose 93 per cent year-on-year in January to 3.2 million square feet across seven major cities, according to property consultant JLL India. However, the leasing fell 56 per cent, compared to December 2022, which had seen 7.4 million square feet office space absorption. In January 2022, the aggregate leasing activities stood at 1.7 million square feet.
The RBI's decision to hike repo rate will hit consumers' buying sentiment, but will have a moderate impact on housing sales in the affordable and mid-income categories, according to industry experts.
Net leasing of office space is likely to rise by 41-49 per cent across seven major cities this year on a lower base and improved demand post-pandemic, according to JLL India. Net absorption or leasing of office space stood at 26.2 million square feet in 2021, and it is likely to be in the range of 37-39 million square feet this year across seven cities -- Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Nevertheless, the net office leasing will remain lower than the record absorption achieved in 2019 -- the pre-COVID year -- at 47.9 million square feet.
The RBI's decision to hike the benchmark interest rate will make home loans costlier and affect housing sales, especially in affordable and mid-income segments, according to property consultants. The RBI on Wednesday hiked the key benchmark rate by 50 basis points. Property consultancy firms Anarock, Knight Frank India, JLL India, Colliers India, India Sotheby's International Realty and Investors Clinic said that the RBI's move was on the expected line to control inflation and this would result in an increase in interest rates on home loans.
The total demand has remained subdued mainly due to high interest rates and property prices.
Net office leasing rose by 8 per cent to 5.85 million square feet in the July-September period of this calendar year across seven cities on better demand from corporates and coworking operators, according to JLL India. Property consultant JLL India attributed the rise in net absorption to various factors such as better awareness about coronavirus, preparedness along with mass vaccination drive and unlocking of economy has aided in the revival of the office market. Net absorption or leasing includes fresh leasing in completed buildings and pre-commitments in buildings that become operational during the time being reviewed, and excludes exits/terminations, churns, renewals, and pre-commitments in future supply.
Mumbai witnessed the sharpest decrease in new launches, at 43 per cent during 2014, followed by Hyderabad, with a 30 per cent drop.
Housing sales are likely to be hit, especially in affordable and mid-income categories, following the RBI's decision to hike repo rate, according to real estate developers and consultants. However, the impact of RBI's decision to raise the benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to 5.40 per cent is expected to be for a short term, they added. This is the third consecutive rate hike after a 40 basis points and 50 basis points increase in May and June, respectively.
Out of 97 global cities, Mumbai and Delhi are currently ranked at 21 and 33, respectively.
The stakeholders' sentiments for a shorter period fell from 63 in Q3 2014 to 48 in Q3 2015.
Make sure buying a house won't lead to compromises on other crucial financial goals.
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Housing prices in India fell 1.7 per cent during the April-June quarter due to poor demand amid subdued economic conditions and there are no signs of recovery, real estate consultancy Knight Frank said.
Weak absorption and rising inventories in the residential market in Mumbai may lead to price correction in the early part of 2014, real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank said.
Mumbai is expected to see the fastest rise in UHNWIs followed by Delhi.
Currently, there's a shortfall of 23 million houses in India.
Realty firms and consultants hoped however that this would be the last round of monetary tightening by the central bank.
Effects of the new schemes launched under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana would be felt more in tier-II and tier-III cities, as not many budget or affordable housing projects are in the works in metropolitan cities.
Bengaluru-based developers, such as Puravankara Limited and Sowparnika Projects, have witnessed over 85-90 per cent of their customers being first time buyers or end users.
Discounts up to 15% expected this festive season; analysts expect October-December period to garner sales of at least 60K units across seven major cities.
Shift to new business model to help companies cut capital cost, increase margins.
Karan Choudhury reports on the implications of the strict Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act and the prosecution of Unitech MDs, Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra, in an alleged fraud case.
Mumbai and Bengaluru also featured among the list of top five global cites in terms of future rental growth.
To help revive the economy battered by COVID-19, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced a slew of measures, including Rs 1.1 lakh crore credit guarantee scheme for improving health infrastructure, and enhancing the limit under the ECLGS by 50 per cent to Rs 4.5 lakh crore for the MSME sector facing liquidity crunch. Sharing the details of stimulus package, the finance minister said this comprises eight relief measures and other eight measures to support the economic growth. She announced Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for COVID-affected sectors, including health sector, which includes guarantee cover for expansion or for new projects. Besides, she said, additional Rs 1.5 lakh crore limit enhancement done for Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) scheme.
Before buying property, please carefully study the agreement with the builder, advises Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Indebted developers are cutting staff as they slow work on existing projects and postpone new ones until they clear a backlog of 700,000 unsold homes
Modi's party also wants to regulate property markets and tie investor money to specific projects to stop developers diverting cash elsewhere.
120 new malls came up in last two years, but 30-40 of their older peers downed shutters
Consumer durables and electronics companies are putting the final touches to their festive period plans.
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