PUNE'S PULSE - REALTY ON A REBOUND

Feb 18 2017 : The Times of India (Pune)

Amit Sethi





Year 2017 is set to be the one of hope and strength for Pune's real estate sector, aver experts

The year bygone would certainly be remembered as a year of reforms and plat form creation for the growth of realty sector.RERA, Benami Act amendment, interest rate cuts and demonetisation were four major takeaways from 2016 that would keep the realty market busy again in 2017. Experts opine that 2017 is set to be the one of hope and strength for Pune's real estate sector.“The year 2016 saw major developments, be it in the area of an interest rate cut by the apex bank for softer home loans, newer policies and introduction of smaller unit sizes to push sales REITs et al in the Indian real estate sector. The passage of RERA was a major step towards bringing in added efficiency and transparency in this sector. From the Benami Act to demonetisation, all policies were aimed at increasing the transparency in the industry and changing the focus to execution rather than new project launches.The last year had been a turning point for the industry and promoted developers to focus on their core competencies and deliver projects in a timely manner. This year was seen to be the most ideal time to purchase a home. The coming years see an upward pressure on prices due to squeezed supply and unmatched demand of homes,“ suggests Vidip Jatia, director, Belmac.
Experts point out that notwithstanding the headwinds there has been an increase in total apartments sold in 2016 as compared to 2015.There has however been a reduction in the total number of new apartments brought into the market by a huge 21 per cent.
YEAR OF GROWTH ON THE CARDS
“The real impact of RERA will be visible in 2017. We anticipate sales to continue along with a reduction in the new projects launched because all the challenging condi tions imposed by the act. This will lead to the emergence of strong performing brands receiving a lion's share of the customer demand,“ Rohit Gera, MD, Gera Developments and VP, CREDAI Pune Metro.
There is a wider consensus in the market that all the policies, which have been implemented in 2016 would show their real impact in 2017. Some major developments that realty experts expect in 2017 are as follows.
Increase in transparency will see increased interest in the realty space, thus having an upward pressure on prices There should be increase in pro fessionalism and builders with good corporate governance will thrive Residential demand will pick up, especially with the government's drive to increase the affordable housing segment Again, commercial space is required to drive economic activity.Overall, experts feel that the real estate will soon become like any other industry wherein design, planning and execution hold the key.
“Primary sales predominantly driven by salaried buyers purchasing through home loans have emerged as the strongest segment and will dominate the city's property market in 2017. The trend of buyers ruling the market will continue, and there is every likelihood of a strong further upswing in sentiment on the back of favourable announcements in the upcoming Union Budget,“ opines Kishor Pate, CMD Amit Enterprises Housing Ltd.
Realty experts are anticipating that the sentiments of the market will improve in 2017. Fence-sitters will be able to take a positive call which will in return boost up the sales. For 2017, experts are positive on the Pune market, as the city has been declared in the list of Smart Cities. Pune has been already an established education & IT hub and witnessing the future infrastructure development.
LOCATIONS IN FOCUS
“I envision East Pune to be the location of choice for homebuyers. With so much support infrastructure in the vicinity such as schools, hospitals, IT Parks et al there is an innate demand in this region. Road widening, installation of Gas Pipelines and development of PMC Gardens in this vicinity have truly given home buyers a good reason to consider East Pune as the preferred location. Infrastructure initiatives by the government, such as the new metro, which has been inaugurated by the Chief Minister will truly change the dynamics of this region in the coming years,“ adds Jatia.
Experts also believe that Bhugaon would be another favourite among budget homebuyers from the IT sector because it is close to Kothrud while remaining quite affordable.However, Kothrud has also returned in the popularity map of buyers who have always been interested in this traditional core area of Pune, because of some fresh albeit limited supply on the primary market there.