The experts predict continuingly positive prospects for real estate in the Interim Budget 2024-25. They expect major reforms to foster growth by stimulating demand and promoting investment in the sector, such as granting infrastructure status for affordable housing, reducing GST rates, and simplifying tax structure for REITs. Several initiatives include debt restructuring options for stressed developers, better credit availability, and digitization measures to facilitate transparency. On the whole, the real estate sector is positive about adopting a comprehensive policy framework from the 2024-25 Budget to promote growth and resilience in the post-COVID era.
Jetaish Gupta, Co-founder and director at Adore Group
For this particular Budget, the government needs to focus on the affordable housing segment. The category declined due to a pandemic sunrise in the real estate market. It constitutes only 20 percent of total housing sales, significantly lower than the pre-pandemic trend where it accounted for nearly half (40%) of all properties sold. To rejuvenate the sector, which will later play a critical role in filling the housing deficit gap that becomes wider each day, governing bodies should stimulate policy push; tax waivers and support through finances.
Gurmit Singh Arora, National President, Indian Plumbing Association:
Certainly, real estate is doing well and the sector will continue to advance fast in 2024. But regulatory agencies as well as governments must also take a central part in promoting affordability and long-term viability. Indian metropolises continue to be plagued by severe housing deficits and it has been predicted that a shortage of 25 million homes will remain India’s problem till the year 2030. But the government should undertake positive initiatives on this front.
Aside from cutting the lending rates in the cheap sector, affordability should be defined to include a larger number of households. Developers should also be rewarded through better funding methods, tax breaks, and investments in R&D. This will ensure that the category has long-term sustainability. Alongside affordable housing, GOI must also consider the lowering of repo rates and investing in long-term public infrastructure. In addition, Buildings account for nearly 40% of the global carbon discharges. 11 % is attributed to materials and 28% originates from Operational Carbon. The asset class of buildings, however, are assets that have been created to last for between half a century and seventy years. Therefore, to decarbonize India and attain carbon neutrality the focus should be on developing mandatory-certified green buildings.
LC Mittal, Director, Motia Group
The Indian real estate sector is an important part of the economy and it contributes about 8% to GDP. It also ranks second in terms of employment generation after the agriculture sector and over 200 dependent industries are associated with it. Therefore, the government should adopt measures to increase demand, rationalize costs, and remove bureaucratic hurdles. In the new budget, the governing bodies should consider turning real estate into an industry as it deserves through reflection on single window clearance, tax benefits, and rationalization of taxes. This would not only benefit the real estate sector, but other related sectors will gain also from these positive effects.
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