New Delhi, February 10, 2023- The real estate market in India has recovered steadily in 2022 with growing residential and commercial demand, complemented by the gradual reopening of offices and educational institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic had severely impacted the real estate sector, leading to a slowdown in sales, delays in project completion, and a decline in overall market activity.
Convening at the flagship Magicbricks Leadership Dialogues, real-estate experts from Pune shared an optimistic outlook for 2023, driven primarily by economic stability and a strong end-user residential demand. Industry stalwarts like Ranjit Naiknavare (Vice President & incoming President, CREDAI Pune & Director – Naiknavare Developers), Kapil Gandhi (PR Convenor and Managing Committee Member, CREDAI Pune & Founder – Sigma One Universal), Anup Jhamtani (Managing Director -Jhamtani Group) and Ashwin Trimal (Founder – TruSpace Realty) were present at the event. The session was chaired by Siddhart Goel, Head – of Research & Editorial, Magicbricks.
The session discussed the importance of real estate as an asset class that offers potential investment returns through cost appreciation, rental income, and diversification benefits, serving it as an inflation hedge. Speaking about this, Mr. Ranjit Naiknavare, the incoming President of CREDAI Pune said that “COVID-19 has made people realize the importance of owning a house. It is a highly tangible asset compared to stocks, bonds, and cryptos. Real estate can be passed from generation to generation and has proven to have given the continued high return on investments historically, which makes it one of the safest investments.” Speaking on the importance of the emotional quotient (EQ) of buying a house, Mr. Naiknavare said “For anyone, buying a house is an ultimate dream, as it has a psychological and social effect on the owner and his/her family. Having a place of their own helps in upgrading one’s lifestyle and living standards, which also helps to increase their social standing. It brings an essence of confidence, which gets reflected in their day-to-day lives.”
According to Magicbricks’ data, the residential demand in Pune increased by 9.5% in 2022. 91% of the home buyers in Pune searched for multistorey apartments in 2022. 2BHK units saw the highest interest at 46% followed by 3BHK and above units with a 40% share. Elaborating on the growth prospects of Pune’s real estate sector, Mr. Naiknavare said, “Pune is a dynamic market, where retail, residential, and commercial sectors are together growing by multiple folds. With Pune further consolidating its status as an educational hub with at least 12 private universities, and the government proposing to develop major infrastructure projects like Outer and Inner Ring Roads, Metro, Purandar airport, river rejuvenation, and riverfront development, etc. companies (big and small) will continue to invest in the city and hence, its real estate market will now grow faster than any other Tier I city.”
The session also engaged in the ease of real estate business in India. The panelists expressed hope that the Ready Reckoner and Stamp Duty charges will be lowered and kept stable. Mr. Kapil Gandhi said, “Data from the Office of the Inspector General of Registration & Controller of Stamps (IGR), Maharashtra State shows that the government saw a phenomenal increase in its collections from over INR 26,000 crores in 2020-21 to more than INR 35,000 crores (growth of over 37%) in 2021-22 by introducing a 4% cut in Stamp Duty, which was removed in a graded manner. High transaction costs have a knock-on effect of increasing the costs of purchase and adding to inflation in the economy. He further added that “The central, state and local governments need to boost the ease of doing business for the sector through single window clearances and reduce the approval process timelines from over a year, as this will help to boost supply and achieve the Central government’s goal of Housing for All.”
Mr. Siddhart Goel said, “Despite Pune not being a state capital, the city is amongst the top 6 real estate markets in India. After Bengaluru and along with Hyderabad, it has consistently shown a growth in demand for commercial office, residential, retail, and industrial real estate asset classes. It is also leading the growth in new and emerging specialized asset classes such as co-working, co-living, student, and senior citizen’s living. In order to address the growth in demand while maintaining sustainable living standards, the authorities and stakeholders must ensure proper planning and management.
The platform gave an excellent opportunity for the leaders to exchange ideas and gain insights from one another on other topics such as the need for and importance of cluster development in congested parts of the city, the growth of emerging locations, the changes in homebuyers’ profiles and preferences, growth of markets in tier 2 and 3 cities of Maharashtra and how digitalization is becoming an important aspect for transacting real estate.
