While the COVID-19 has by and large dented the confidence level of the real estate developers, Aditya Kushwaha, CEO & Director of Axis Ecorp believes there are a silver lining for the players who are forward-looking in their approach. In an exclusive interview with Track2Realty, Kushwaha asserts that the Work From Home trend would shift the focus from top metro cities to open spaces in and around the tourist destinations. He, therefore, urges the government to look at the Holiday Home segment as a priority sector.
Ravi Sinha: 2020 has generally been a bad year for the sector. Has there been any positive developments that bodes well for the year ahead?
Aditya Kushwaha: The real estate sector was already in bad shape before the Covid-19 pandemic, which has only added to the troubles of the distressed industry. April and May were probably the worst months when the economy was broken badly, however recently there has been a good spike in the recovery of the real estate sector and demand for home loans has gone up evidently.
Even the tax collections on account of GST has been on a surge. These are surely good signs of growth in the sector during the unlock process in the country, and while it is a positive development, it is not reflective of a recovery in the sense of the economy moving from a trot to a gallop.
With policy support from the Central Government, the real estate sector is displaying signs of growth, and sales numbers are increasing across cities. To boost housing demand, the Finance Minister had announced measures like an additional outlay of around INR 18,000 crore for PM Awas Yojana. This relief is expected to lift the demand, particularly in the affordable and mid housing segments.
Likewise, a record low rate of Home loans, relaxation on Stamp Duty in a few states & RERA Regulation have been instrumental to motivate investors to invest in Real Estate.
Ravi Sinha: Demand has been mostly muted. What makes you so bullish?
Aditya Kushwaha: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of a holiday home or a second home has gained widespread acceptance. With most of the corporate professionals working from home, geography is no longer a constraint. The need for a perfect balance between work and personal life has fuelled the concept of a weekend retreat in a holiday home.
From the investment perspective, second homes in non-metro cities are a relatively safe investment option with higher capital appreciation compared to homes in metros, especially during COVID-19, when alternative options such as mutual funds, shares have seen diminishing returns. These properties can be rented out to home-stays and tourism businesses, a booming market promising an assured and stable source of income to investors.
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