2020 has been a year of living dangerously, and miraculously. A year unlike any we have known before. With COVID-19 pandemic throwing us unprecedented challenges, we have adapted to the new normal and come out stronger and more resilient than before. And this has been the story of the Indian Real Estate sector too.
The Q1 of 2020 saw unprecedented trouble for the Indian real estate sector that was slowly gaining ground after demonetisation. The interdependence of supply chains, migration of labourers, cost overruns, and liquidity constraints came to fore and emerged as some of the looming challenges. However, the second quarter ushered in a flush of optimism for the businesses, government, and financial markets which resulted in the GDP contraction to reduce significantly to 7.5% in Q2 FY’20. This recovery statement has been buoyed by the Government of India’s frequent policy interventions since the outbreak of the pandemic and the lock-down in the country in March 2020.
While it was a tough time for many small-time developers, it was a chance to venture into new, uncharted waters for reputed builders. According to a report by Anarock Consultancy, ‘Consolidation among the developers wherein the most capable ones with a consistent track record of execution, fiscal discipline, transparency, and corporate governance, will gain the majority of the market share and thrive. The ability to scale up and adapt to the changing market forces through investments in research and advisory will help to fortify the real estate sector in the coming years.’
Malabar Developers, one of the best names in Real Estate in Kerala is bouncing back and how. While work at construction sites was stalled during the lock-down period, it is picking up slowly over the latter part of the year. Malabar Developers have also seen a huge amount of enquiries from NRI investors.
The main trends that have evolved in real estate as a result of the pandemic are:
1) The people who were undecided about buying residential homes and apartments, took the step for investing in real estate.
2) There was a huge surge in NRI investment in properties.
3) An increase in the use of online advertisements and online tools for hunting houses and apartments and seeing them online before visiting the site.
2021 looks to be a promising year for the traditional real estate asset classes including apartments, villas, plots and commercial spaces, and also the new-age ones such as warehousing and data centres. Coworking requirements may also rise once the vaccine is available to the larger masses.
