Is it wise to invest in the Indian real estate market in 2020-2021?

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2020-21 on 1 February. Highlights of the budget for the real estate sector are as follows:

Deductions on affordable housing were allowed on housing loans sanctioned on or before March 31, 2020. In order to ensure that more people take advantage of this benefit and to pursue affordable housing, the date of loan approval has been proposed to be extended by 1 year. To boost the supply of affordable homes in the country, a tax holiday is being provided on the profits earned by the developers of the affordable housing project till 31 March 2020.

Currently in real estate transactions, when taxing income from capital gains, business profits, and other sources, if the consideration value is less than the 5% circle rate, the difference is counted as income for both the buyer and seller. To reduce the difficulty in real estate transactions and provide relief to the sector, it has been proposed that the limit be increased from 5% to 10%.

An investment of Rs 100 crore will be made on infrastructure in the next 5 years in various sectors like housing, infrastructure, energy, healthcare, educational institutions, transport, logistics and warehousing, irrigation projects etc.

The year 2019 was a period of many highs and lows for the Indian real estate market. The ongoing crisis resulted in a decrease in liquidity and a slower pace of sales improvement. However, on the positive end, the successful launch of India's first real estate investment trust (REIT) opened up new avenues for investment, while several positive government initiatives provided much needed relief to the sector. 

According to research, the housing sale price of India's top 9 listed players reached in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2019, an increase of 5%. 2019 saw a 4–5% annual increase in housing sales with over 2.58 lakh homes sold during the year. The new housing launches in 2019 saw 18-20% annual growth and developers are expecting sustained efforts of the central government such as additional cuts on loan interest, GST rate cuts, alternative investment funds for stalled projects and credit guarantee scheme changes in the sector will be strengthened.

Real estate welcomes lockdown extension, How to measure for liquidity crisis to seek loss

The health and safety of the nation is the focal point at this time. The real estate industry welcomed the Centre's decision to extend the lockdown period until 3 May. But as a body, it is also quick to provide a relief package to the government to alleviate the liquidity crisis faced by the builders and also allow limited construction activities with appropriate. 

“We support the Prime Minister's announcement on the extension of the lockdown. We are waiting for the roadmap to be presented by the government on April 20 and will also urge the government to allow limited construction activity as it will help the real estate sector to bring its economic movement in a formidable shape, "CREDAI.

It is anticipated that this will adversely affect an economy already under severe stress. Industry giants are looking for some measures that will keep businesses such as outright restructuring of bank loans from developers to deal with this liquidity crisis.

However, the cumulative approach of all veterans is that economic activities should start slowly including resuming construction activity at project sites.

Why real estate should be good to investment in this lockdown

Fight continues in the world due to the outbreak of COVID-19. To further maintain the risk from snowballing, the Indian government has indicated to fully affect the lockdown. As a result, nowadays, most of us are working from home. Outside life has come to a grinding halt. No matter how uncomfortable it sounds, it is probably the only way to prevent perennial corona viruses from spreading further.

Although our daily routines have been affected, this does not mean that people should lock themselves inside their homes, stop all their plans and only watch worrying news on TV about this threat. These are some of the best times when one can spend time with family, do various hobbies and introspection. The current situation is an ideal time to think about investing in sources of passive income. Eventually, some of the best opportunities emerge from a crisis.

Zoning on various options can be seen in various options like term plans, stock market and real estate. While every investment option has its pros and cons, as of now, when the stock market is recessionary and the banking sector is in a tailspin, real estate can be a great asset to place bets on. If anyone wants to do it risk-free yet, makes a commendable return, with many residential and commercial real estate options available.

Full of attractive offers: Recognizing this opportunity, developers are coming up with many attractive offers. Property prices have already corrected in the last few quarters. After COVID, many developers are offering further discounts and attractive offers to maintain their financial books. There are projects where one now needs to pay 5% to book a property. The remaining payments will start after 60 days. By that time, it is expected that the crisis will mostly end.

However, such plans are a fleeting event that developers are launching to boost sentiment. Prices have already come down and once the situation returns to normal, such attractive schemes will also be lost. Therefore, this may be the best time to buy real estate. It should not be surprising if one gets ready-to-use assets for a price equal to a new launch.

Higher yields: Real estate can offer risk-thrilling competitive returns. Although residential real estate has been stable in recent years, commercial real estate has been issuing attractive returns. A commercial property in a prime location can easily give an average annual appreciation of around 7-10%. At a time when share prices and financial markets are volatile, such a comeback can be a game-changer.

Concurrent Rental Income: Real estate can provide continuous income in the form of monthly rent. The rental component always makes real estate a very unique proposition for investing. A quality commercial property can provide returns of around 5-8%. Similarly, residential projects can give returns of around 2-3%. Therefore, this is the right time to capitalize on those possibilities.

Increased liquidity: This is a good time to invest in real estate because home loan is going to be cheaper. RBI has recently cut the repo rate by 75 basis points. The rate drop is a welcome move for the industry. In a short period of time, as a calibrated response to the reduction in repo rates, most banks will also reduce their home loan rates.

Feasible Hard Asset: The biggest advantage of real estate is that it is a tangible asset. At a time when there is too much risk investing in paper money, real estate is a safer and safer asset for betting.

Real estate is a separate asset class that can ensure appreciable ROI, hedge against income and provide recurring income in the form of rental yields. However, it has its drawbacks, as a real estate asset will take at least 2-3 months. Nevertheless, investment in real estate is always made keeping in mind the medium to long term perspective. A short-term perspective can be counter intuitive.

So in these times of social distinction, do not just shut yourself down. Use isolation downtime, do some in-depth research, learn about the various sources of passive income and make the most of this time to make meaningful investments.

STAY HOME, STAY SAFE, STAY ALIVE

SUGANTA REALTY SERVICES LLP