An Interview Session with Mr. Ashwin Jain, President – APP-Delhi NCR

Q1.  What are the key trends and observations for real estate market in Delhi / NCR?

The last two years have seen the realty sector especially Delhi/NCR coming out of a serious recession.

The key factors driving this has been primarily due to the strengthening of the economy, a stable government, introduction & implementation of reforms like RERA, GST and demonetisation!

The cut in interest rates by RBI has helped in a better economic growth with increase in liquidity. Despite a lot of projects a long way from delivery, the market across Delhi NCR have seen a lot of new project launches with healthy sales, showing a renewed confidence by the buyers.

Healthy growth has been seen as the demand for grade ‘A’ office spaces increases. this triggered an exponential growth of co-working space providers like Wework, Awfis, Hive,  Cowork etc. The demand for soft shell grade ‘A’ office spaces has been robust.

The demand for co-living spaces which is the next big thing to watch out with Tribeca, Oxford caps, OYO etc. jumping into the band wagon to get a slice of the pie.

80% percentage of ready to move-in inventory is sold-out bringing back the confidence of the developers for new launches.

The luxury real estate has also witnessed a huge growth with honest pricing, right sizing, and easy payment plans.

Although the government cap on offer of subvention plan by NHFCs played a dampener but it was important to reign in the crises of NHFCs. At the same time the interest rate (thrice) shows the governments favourable focus on the Realty sector.

The affordable housing with PMAY is a major thing to provide 20 million houses by March 2022 to covered with the 150^th Birth Celebration of Mahatma Gandhi Ji. This will give a tremendous boost to the infrastructure, connectivity, allied manufacturing industries, provide employment.

Investment focus should be at least 3-5 years. The stable government with new regulations has attracted a lot of  foreign funds & equity participation, which will give the much needed boost & confidence to the Realty sector. The markets are maturing & there is a long way to go. Stay put with good quality of Real Estate to Reap the best returns!!

Q2. How is the real estate situation expected to improve post GST ERA?

Before the introduction of GST there were multiple taxes levied on the real estate sector like VAT, Service Tax, Stamp duty and Registration charges. They also varied from state to state. GST implementation has played a significant role by simplifying the taxation in real estate.

The GST can very between 5-18 percent depending upon on various sectors at present, most of the developers across the country are taking GST inputs but they are not passing it to the buyers. This increases the cost of acquisition there by putting a lot of unnecessary burden on the buyers. I feel the GST should be cut down to 5% instead of 12%-18% to give a better boost to the Realty sector.

Q3. Issues and challenges faced by brokers?

In Indian real estate brokerages sector has largely been unorganised. This is largely because of no thresh-hold limit to enter this business, no regulation except RERA (which was introduce 2 years back) and no education and licensing for this sector.

It’s note worthy to note that National Association of Realtors, INDIA which is the credible voice of Realtors on a national level has collaborated with various institutions and organisations like Indian School of Business, Royal Institute of Chartered Accountants, NAREDCO, CII, CREDAI to name of you by forging strategic partnerships. It is also offering online certificate test to its members through it’s arm IIRE (Indian institute of real estate).

But all these are at a nascent stage and there is still a long way to go. I feel that following points need to be considered for the realtors 

It was a long standing demand that GST on brokerages should be rationalised from 18% to 5%.

Demand for one India one Licence. 

There should be a single licence for consultants/ realtors across the country as it causes a huge financial burden on the realtors to take separate licence for each state, along with different state laws. 

The RERA authorities should consider the use of licence fees collected for the benefit of realtor.

The RERA laws have stringent penalties on the realtor which should be removed. We are not developers/builders; we are just a service provider. 

Licence fee charge by some authorities from realtors is very high. It should be reduced and in tandem with the central government. 

Q4. How is real estate sector expected to benefit through new reforms by FM Sitharaman 

In a much-anticipated press conference, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced a slew of measures to revive economic growth.

Giving in to the demands of overseas investors, Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced a rollback of enhanced surcharge on foreign portfolio investors levied in the Budget. Angel tax on start-ups has also been lifted.

The banks have been asked to transfer the benefits of repo rate cuts by the RBI to the borrowers. 

This will lead to easy availability of finances to this sector thereby keeping the prices in check thus benefitting the buyers.

Q5. Objective of forming an organization like APP?

True to the name “Association of Property Professionals – Delhi NCR” (APP) has a social vision which is genuine path of Real Estate. The broad spectrum of our activities and their success rate within a short span of time speak about the dedicated work done by “Association of Property Professionals – Delhi NCR” (APP).

The focus of ‘APP – Delhi NCR’ is not just limited to Realtors. We provide support to Realtors, Builders & Developers; offer them vocational skills training to enable them to lead lives of financial independence and self esteem, help in current issues and so on. Increasing awareness and business development skills against taxes & policies to amongst ‘APP – Delhi NCR’ members.

Our Association has the vision to educate people about Realty awareness, brokerage and all such other activities for the purpose of promotion of true state of Realty.

The strength of APP – Delhi NCR has always been and remains our dedicated membership comprised of a wide variety of diversified backgrounds and individual expertise.

EDUCATE . EMPOWER . COLLABORATE . TRANSFORM

Q6. Your future plans and benefit to the industry Strong membership strength 

identifying each person’s strengths and then manage around those essential skills. The results will include increased productivity, improved performance, and higher employee engagement and retention.

(b) Maximum business provide to our members to create more business opportunity 

Invest in a course to hone skills that identify and optimize the strength of your team members. This type of training may be something your HR department can deliver, or you might find training outside your organization.

Businesses are really just people, and they hold the keys to the opportunities you’re seeking. Connect with many people and build rapport quickly. Most people do business with people they like and grow to trust, so investing in people and relationships has been a critical element to my role as a leader and business owner.

Policy transparency for all governing body and general body members

An organisation’s ability to attract and retain talent ends upon the way it conducts business. The basic premise being that any activity that the organization performs, it should be able to stand up to public security.