Cash Crunch Pain May Be Waning For The Real Estate Sector

Lower interest rates pushes up demand for real estate, says CREDAI.

Sharleen Dsouza @sharleendsouza

06 Apr 2017, 10:04 AM IST

Tower cranes operate at a residential construction site, developed by Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt.(Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

Demand is slowly reviving in Mumbai’s real estate market, according to Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) President Jaxay Shah.

Sales rose 10-15 percent between February and March, he told BloombergQuint in an interview. Tier-II and tier-III cities have seen a higher pace of recovery, post demonetisation, added Shah.

Lower interest rates and better lending conditions have also contributed to the demand recovery, said Shah.

Also Read: Sobha Rallies As Fourth Quarter Sales Shake Off Demonetisation Bump

But developers may have to wait for some time before they can hike prices. Data compiled by real estate consultant Knight Frank shows that more than 1.5 lakh apartments remain unsold in Mumbai and its adjoining areas of Thane and Navi Mumbai, by the end of last year.

CREDAI is hoping that the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) may provide more impetus and help revive demand as it ensures more transparency in the entire system, said Shah. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout may throw up some teething problems though, he added.