After slowdown, will real estate be back on track in 2018?

In line with the past three-four years, the performance of real estate in 2017 was lacklustre in terms of growth in prices and sales. Real estate which was one of the most sought after investment avenue among India has seen a dip in its popularity off late because of the stagnation or dip in prices. Apart from this, real estate has been considered a safe haven for parking black money but the reforms such as Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) and Goods & Services Tax (GST) and Demonetisation brought in by the government to curb the black money menace has hit the sector hard.

In some of the real estate markets, the sales are yet to catch up to the pre-demonetisation level.

In 2017, 1.6 lakh units were sold during Q1-Q3 2017 as per Anarock research.The decline in sales was only to the tune of 30% compared to Q1-Q3 2016.

Also, the number of new launches were also limited.

Only 94,000 units were added in top 7 cities of India between Q1-Q3 2017, which is a drop of more than 50% from the same period in 2016.

However, experts believe that real estate market is going through a transitional phase. Things are going to get better over time and the reforms will help in shaping up the industry to a more consumer friendly market.

"Overall, 2017 saw the Government making it clear that home buyers will no longer be at the mercy of real estate developers, and putting various measures in place to ensure that housing supply syncs up with demand and pertinent projects are developed. There are doubtlessly some teething troubles - some of them very obvious - in implementing and executing the new policies and reforms. However, they have made a deep impact even now," says Anuj Puri, Chairman - Anarock Property Consultants.

Affordable Housing is going to be the big thing in 2018 given the thrust by the government. The government has awarded it with the much needed infrastructure status. The definition of affordable housing and houses classified under mid income group was also changed by the government to cover a larger buyer base and help developers offload their budget homes inventory.

2018 is unlikely to see any price rise in 2018, however the recent reforms will boost the confidence of the home buyers and sales are likely to pick up in 2018, believe experts.   

"The real estate market in 2018 is expected to show price levels on a similar scale when compared with those of 2017. All in all, the year will remain a good time to buy. It is expected that the market will see more options in ready stock since a greater number of completions are to take place in the next year," says Samir Jasuja, MD & Founder, PropEquity.
 
"We may not see a scintillating residential market recovery in 2018, but it is certain that whatever recovery and growth we see from here onward will be sustainable and backed by stronger market fundamentals than ever before. The days of speculative peaks and troughs are safely behind us," says Anuj Puri, Chairman - Anarock Property Consultants.