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Business : Realty sector returns in India at an all-time high
DUBAI — India’s real estate sector is poised to record continued strong growth given the robust state of the country’s economy, which is projected to grow 8.5 per cent in the current fiscal.
“Investing in Indian real estate is sure to give investors a rewarding deal as the returns are at an all-time high,” said M.I. Sait, managing director of Mindscape Exhibitions Pvt, which is organising the Times Realty India 2012 exhibition which is to run at JW Marriott Hotel Deira on Friday and Saturday.
At the two-day event, a wide range of Indian properties will be showcased. Sait said the real estate sector has attracted increased flow of foreign investors.
He said the Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programmed Implementation, has estimated an 8.5 per cent gross domestic product growth for 2011- 2012, against the initial projection of 8.6 per cent.
“This means the Indian realty has outperformed the primary investment sectors. The market witnessed stability with virtually no change in the rentals over the year as the malls located in the central districts continued to operate with high occupancy levels.”
Sait said the second half of 2012 is expected to witness an additional space supply of approximately three million square feet.
According to property experts, investment in residential property projects is currently preferred by investors, since the demand for homes in the metros and Tier II cities is virtually limitless.
Commercial and retail spaces also present potentially lucrative investment propositions, especially in the larger cities, they said. They argue that residential property investment is comparatively low risk, while retail is a moderate risk/returns option. “However, capital values are higher in commercial and retail spaces, so they represent larger investments. Moreover, it is more difficult to exit in the case of commercial spaces,” they said.
The Tier I cities of Mumbai and Delhi and Tier II cities such as Bangalore, Pune and Chennai are seeing the highest demand by investors. In broad terms, the configurations in greatest demand are one and two bedroom flats in the central areas as well as the suburbs, while three bedroom flats in good township projects on the outskirts are also a good option, they said.
Credai Kerala, the south Indian state chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, the apex body of organised real estate developers representing over 6000 developers, will be part of the property show.
M.V. Antony, President, and John Thomas, secretary of Credai Kerala, said under it leading builders from the state would be showcasing their projects at the Dubai event. “Kerala is in a phase of development and progress. Important developments are happening in Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala — the metro rail, Vallarpadam Transshipment Terminal, the Smart city to name a few. Not far behind are the other leading cities of Kerala — Trivandrum, Kozhikode and Kannur,” they said.
“The Vizhinjam International Seaport project in Trivandrum and the upcoming cyber park project in Kozhikode given a further big boost to the property sector in those tow cities. Kannur is also fast developing with an international Airport underway,” they said.
issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
