HomeReal Estate NewsRestarting India: Real estate on brink of collapsing due to COVID; experts discuss ways to revive the sector

Restarting India: Real estate on brink of collapsing due to COVID; experts discuss ways to revive the sector

The outbreak of the COVID pandemic and the subsequent lockdown restrictions have brought the real estate sector on the brink of collapse.

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By Shereen Bhan  September 8, 2020, 11:19:20 PM IST (Updated)

The outbreak of the COVID pandemic and the subsequent lockdown restrictions have brought the real estate sector on the brink of collapse. According to a report by Kotak Institutional Equities, apartments in India worth Rs 2.8 lakh crore are in limbo due to stalled construction or sales. This has put nearly 28 percent of loans taken by developers across India at risk and the situation is likely to worsen.


The Kotak report also points out the COVID situation is likely to result in a 35 percent drop in demand for residential real estate in the current fiscal. Residential sales were down over 50 percent in the first half of 2020, according to a Knight Frank report.

And it's not just the sales picture, residential rentals have seen a significant slump as well. According to sources, homeowners in Mumbai are willing to rent out apartments at a 20-30 percent discount. In some cases, home owners are willing to pay the brokerage amount out of their own pockets as well.

So, in what way can the Centre help revive the sector? To take the discussion forward, CNBC-TV18’s Shreen Bhan caught up with Niranjan Hiranandani, the co-founder and managing director of Hiranandani Group and the president of industry body ASSOCHAM; Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO of CBRE Group and Prashant Thakur, director and head of research at Anarock Property Consultants.

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