Hyderabad: Real estate sector will become bullish and positive post Covid-19 and Hyderabad will remain the most favorite investment destination, real estate experts and consultants have forecast.
They believe that this phase is only a pause for growth and investment traffic is neither lost nor diverted.
They were speaking during a webinar conducted by The Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) on 'Facing the global pandemic - The way forward for real estate'.
"The centre's 'Make in India' programme might get a boost from this difficult situation in the medium to long term, but short-term pains for developers are inevitable," said K. Bhasker Reddy, Vice President, FTCCI.
"Dropping prices in a scenario like this is hardly the answer. However, the government might launch measures to make it more lucrative for buyers to invest in property. It is also expected to support real estate, the second-largest employment generator in the country, by waiving off tax on unsold inventory," he added.
Srikanth Badiga, Chairman, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Smart Cities Committee, FTCCI, said the trade was planning to give representations to the government on various issues like timeline extension, property tax and stamp duty exemption for next one year.
R. Chalapathi Rao, President, Telangana Real Estate Developers' Association (TREDA) suggested that the government should give relief on property tax and stamp duty for the next 6 months.
"Government of India estimates the economic loss as 6 to 7 lakh crores. Out of this, real estate is 1 lakh crore. In this scenario, developers will not reduce the prices but offer some discounts to sell the properties," he said.
Rao also wanted liquidity improvement and last mile funding for developers. Time-line for completion of the projects should be extended for next one year.
P. Prem Kumar, National Vice President, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) suggested that market rates as per the registration department should be frozen for next two years. He also sought waiver of late filing fee, relaxing time line for all compliances till September for quarterly update and Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA) Audit.
He said plan sanction fee and other related fee be collected from developers in installments and occupation certificate should be outsourced to architects or should be made self-certified.
Ganesh Subudhi, CFO, K. Raheja IT Park said that the Finance Minister should come with policy for Real Estate Investment Trust (REITS) funding. He believes that April will also not give relief to developers. "Last quarter the sales have declined but as a IT park developer we have good rentals due to the BPOs and call centres," he said.
R. Ramkumar, Vice Chairman, Indo- American Chamber of Commerce, AP & TS, strongly advocated that India open Foreign Direct Investment to revive real estate sector like china.