While the real estate sector anticipates a rebound in home demand in 2022, Budget 2022 is expected to play a supportive role. The sector expects that the forthcoming union budget will include tax relief for the real estate sector, GST waivers or reductions, and a revision in the definition of affordable housing, among other things.
Despite the ongoing Covid-19, the sector has seen a surge in demand in recent quarters, owing to low home loan interest rates and reasonable housing prices. The industry needs government help to keep the recovery going in the sector, which is India’s second largest employer after agriculture and accounts for around 6% of the country’s GDP (GDP).
With a contribution of 8 per cent to the GDP, the real estate sector is a pillar of support for the Indian economy. “If the real sector gets industry status in this budget, then it will be easier for real estate developers to get cheap loans from banks, new launches in the housing sector, which will benefit the economy and employment opportunities will also increase. To increase the demand in the sector, tax relaxation should be increased. We hope that this time again, the government will take some bold step, which will benefit this sector and the buyers,” says LC Mittal, Motia Group’s director.
The government and banks have done a commendable job in recovering the real estate sector from the pandemic, whose positive impact has also been visible on this sector. “The real estate sector is growing but due to the pandemic, the developer has suffered a lot of time. Single window clearance mechanism is being demanded for a long time for timely delivery of the project, hope to see some positive steps by the government this time. This sector can also get a boost by increasing tax relaxation,” says Mr. Tejpreet Gill, MD at Gillco Group.
The new version of coronavirus, Omicron, has created a new challenge, which needs to be taken some effective steps by the government to keep it under control. “The real estate sector occupies an important place in the Indian economy with a share of 8 percent in the GDP. Therefore, there is a need to maintain adequate liquidity in this. Along with this, if the real estate sector gets industry status, then it will also be easier for real estate to get funds at a lower interest rate. This will also increase the chances of getting FDI significantly, which can make a big difference in the sector with more employment opportunities,” says Akshay Taneja, MD, TDI Infratech.