Is This the Right Time to Buy Real Estate? By Ankush Jain, Managing Director, Bullmen Realty

New Delhi, February 27, 2018: The adages go, ‘haste makes waste’ and that the ‘slow and steady wins the race’. But, at a time when the real estate market seems to be slowly but surely rearing its mercurial head, question remains-is 2018 the right time to invest in real estate? The real estate market seems to be reeling for better than worse after the Union budget for the coming fiscal year was publicised. It goes without saying that the fabric of the market seems to be positive all-around, but is it safe for the consumer to put his money down? Let us have a look at the few factors that influence this decision:

Low Taxes

The GST rates have been modified keeping in mind the chagrin faced by home buyers. The Union Budget has presented both buyers and builders a golden loophole of 1st July. GST shall be charged on the portions of homes that are seeing completion only after that particular date. Buildings that are meeting completion or have obtained an occupation/completion certificate enjoy no GST at all. These benefits trickle down on the consumer’s lap. So if GST was a significant deterring factor before, now it should give you the final incentive needed to book hat real estate you have been eyeing.

Low EMI rates

Home loan rates lowering for good. The RBI had strict policies in place to ensure that realtors who are already in-debt do not find any loopholes to squeeze out more cash. However, now the RBI has also reconfigured the scheme to ensure that consumers do not face hefty EMI rates on home loans. In the matter of a year, the rates have dropped to 8.3-8.4 in contrast to 2016’s figure of almost 10%. The lower stakes involved in owning a home now should encourage more consumers to buy homes as opposed to renting.

Renewed foreign investment

With the reforms clearing up the passage to a transparent real estate deal,  international private equities are showing interest in lucrative Indian real estate. Be it luxury residential or commercial land the real estate sector is receiving a significant amount of interest from the US, Canada, China, Netherlands and other countries. This is tad bit surprising for market experts who have described these equities to invest cautiously only after testing the waters. It just goes to show that even the international consumers has faith in the trajectory of the Indian real estate sector.

Reforms galore

A multitude of reforms have been introduced by the Government to make the real estate market more trustworthy for the majority average income, middle-income consumer base. The Real Estate Regulation and Development (RERA) Act of 2016 seems to have gone for the jugular of real estate developers, with respect to malpractices that dissuaded investors. The conjunction of RERA-oriented reforms has indeed helped consumers regain faith to invest in the Indian real estate market once again.

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)