Investments in realty sector declined by 20% in a year in Gujarat as against by 6% nationally: ASSOCHAM

Predicting that the realty sector will continue to bleed till the first half of 2014, an Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) survey has found that the situation in Gujarat is likely to be particularly bad, if the current trend is any indication. In a statement, the apex industries body said, “Outstanding investments attracted by the real estate sector in Gujarat have plummeted from over Rs 2.37 lakh crore as of September 2012 to about Rs 1.90 lakh crore as of September 2013 thereby registering significant drop of about 20 per cent”.
It added, this stood in sharp contrast with the fact that “the outstanding investments attracted by the realty sector across top 20 states of India dipped by six per cent during the same period i.e. from over Rs 15.39 lakh crore to about Rs 14.51 lakh crore”.
“The real estate sector suffered grave turbulence in 2013 due to plethora of reasons like rampant economic slowdown both globally and domestically, liquidity crunch, unstable currency, high input costs, labour shortage, high interest rates and growing inflation,” said the comprehensive analysis titled ‘Real Estate Sector: Outlook for 2014’ by ASSOCHAM.
“There has been a gradual fall in outstanding investments attracted by the real estate sector in Gujarat, as the inflow of investments declined by about five per cent, i.e. from over Rs 2.49 lakh crore as of September 2011 to Rs 2.37 lakh crore as of September 2012”, it said, adding, on the other hand, “nationally the outstanding investments in real estate sector increased marginally by about two per cent from about Rs 15.1 lakh crore as of September 2011 to Rs 15.3 lakh crore as of September 2012.”
“In Gujarat, about 63 per cent of total outstanding investments in realty sector were under implementation as of September 2013 while nationally over 68 per cent of total investments were under implementation”, the ASSOCHAM said.
It added, “Even the share of Gujarat in the outstanding investments attracted by real estate sector across top 20 states of India has come down from over 15.39 per cent as of September 2012 to about 13 per cent as of September 2013.”
The ASSOCHAM further said, “As of September 2013, Maharashtra accounts for highest share of about 20 per cent in outstanding real estate investments followed by Gujarat (13 per cent), Haryana (11.2 per cent), Karnataka (11.1 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (9.8 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (9.6 per cent).”
“Apart from Gujarat, the states of Jharkhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are top five states that have seen significant decline in investment inflows in realty sector during the year long period between September 2012 and September 2013. Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh have recorded a surge in investments attracted by realty sector”, it added.
The study was undertaken in order to “ascertain as to what 2014 holds for the sector”, for which the ASSOCHAM interacted with “about 100 developers, real estate brokers and agents, property consultants and senior officials of various companies in the real estate domain during the course of past one month in Ahmedabad”, the ASSOCHAM statement reads.
There seems to be no respite in the offing for India’s real estate sector at least during the first half of the calendar year 2014, said over half the respondents. “The situation on real estate front is not likely to improve much owing to an uncertain political scenario at least during the first six months due to forthcoming general elections and poor investor, end-user confidence due to sluggish economic growth coupled with continued high property prices, asserted about 55 respondents”, it added.
“The overall performance of India’s real estate sector in the year 2014 is likely to remain subdued as people refrain from buying property and developers continue to grapple with high debt, rising construction costs, unsold inventory even as property prices go through the roof thereby slowing the demand for real estate leading to an oversupply situation, many of these suggested”, the ASSOCHAM pointed out.
In its survey, ASSOCHAM representatives sought various suggestion from key players in the real estate sector for revival of the sector and some of these are – need for a single window clearance system to clear all projects instead of seeking approvals of myriad regulators and authorities thereby saving both time and costs; and need to evolve a rational structure vis-à-vis payment of stamp duties on sale and purchase of land and housing properties.
It also looked into factors like need to revise the limit of interest deduction on housing loan of Rs 1.5 lakh introduced by Finance Act 2001 to Rs five lakh; allow more foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate firms to strengthen the industry in townships, housing, built-up infrastructure and construction development projects to spur economic activity, create new employment opportunities and simultaneously add to available housing stock and built-up infrastructure.

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

Search This Blog