Reaction from real estate & coworking experts on Union Budget 2025

New Delhi, February 01, 2025: Ramani Sastri – Chairman & MD, Sterling Developers – The government’s concentrated efforts on infrastructure development promises to significantly enhance housing demand and benefit around 250 ancillary industries, generating numerous job opportunities and bolstering overall economic growth. The establishment of the India Infrastructure Fund and emphasis on Public-Private partnership for infrastructure in the budget is also a game-changer for the real estate industry. The establishment of an Urban Challenge Fund of ₹1 lakh crore will fuel the ongoing momentum in rebuilding urban infrastructure and drive greater demand for real estate in the urban and semi-urban areas. SWAMIH Fund 2 is a much welcome step and will definitely help complete a number of stranded projects, thereby meeting the housing demand and enhance liquidity in the real estate sector. Also, the change announced in Budget 2025 allowing taxpayers to claim the annual value of two self-occupied properties as zero will provide significant tax relief, reduces compliance burdens, and encourages homeownership by making it more affordable for middle-class families, without having to pay income tax on notional rental values of self-occupied homes. While the budget has lent an indirect boost to real estate, it could have fulfilled a few other key expectations for the sector. The budget could have also offered a degree of relief to first-time homebuyers to stimulate the real estate sector. Going forward, the sector is in urgent need of tax breaks, single-window clearance, industry status tag etc which remains paramount for sustaining the upward trajectory of the Indian real estate market.

Manas Mehrotra, Founder, 315 Work Avenue, a leading coworking firm – The Union Budget 2025 has laid strong focus to drive India’s infrastructure growth, with significant investments which will push both residential and commercial real estate demand. The focus on making cities growth hubs will impart a massive fillip to the commercial real estate sector. With corporates & MNCs keen on setting up and expanding office establishments in the high-growth metros, coworking sector will benefit hugely from this initiative, thereby expanding presence across the country. The push for Global Capacity Centres in tier 2 cities will boost overall real estate investment in these areas, making them prime locations for future company expansions, thereby giving a massive boost to coworking firms. The government’s announcement of a ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) is poised to significantly bolster India’s startup ecosystem and generating huge demand for coworking sector, as essential hubs for innovation. The announcement of a committee to review and recommend new reforms to enhance the ease of doing business will significantly streamline regulations, improve efficiency, and attract investments. Overall, huge allocation for upgrading urban infrastructure will translate into enhanced connectivity and better facilities for co-working hubs. Going forward, we hope that the government looks at addressing regulatory concerns and encouraging more coworking firms to open-up through a series of both financial and non-financial incentives and ensure faster economic growth.

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)