The very caption might sound premature, as we are in the midst of a nationwide lock down. The casualty figures are as scary as the economic indicators that are dished out regularly by the experts prophesying doom ahead.
For the developed world, India and China have always been the favorite ‘son and daughter’ who work harder than others to keep their houses running. And when everything is hunky dory, parents tend to turn a blind eye to almost every silly mistake of favorite children, unless one of them causes a pandemic.
The phenomenal growth of China is attributed to its ability to garner lion’s share of global investments in the last 2 decades. Every forbidden issue such as blatant plagiarisms, patent violations, poor human rights record, etc was sacrificed on the altar of ‘brute capitalism’.
Well, one fine morning the developed world wakes up to see the dead bodies flying in every direction in their country and to their dismay they find that their favorite child has played naughty, by pulling a blanket over the deadly virus COVID-19. By then, things had already turned bad for the world and calls for retribution grew louder.
In comes India, with not only its ability to match China in meeting the expectations of the developed world, but also with its vast experience in fighting epidemics of the past. The federal structure of India has never come to the fore as much it has now. Suddenly, the developed world finds a prime minister in every state of India, keeping aside political affiliations and rhetoric, rising to the occasion, fighting the deadly COVID-19, the way, only India can. India has already won the battle even before the war ends.
What this means to the developed world? Will the capital flow re-align? Will India be the toast of the developed world? Will COVID-19 be a blessing in disguise for India?
Undoubtedly, the short term impact of the pandemic on our ‘already fragile economy’ will be felt in every sector, including real estate. The Indian government was forced to swing into action and the cascading effect of already announced stimulus package along with the ones to be announced, will turn around real estate sector.
Let’s see the factors that will help turn around the real estate sector post COVID-19.
TRUST. These days, the most frequent question we hear in the sales room is “is the project Rera registered?” With Rera in place, a great deal of trust has been already restored among the customer community and the society in general.
INTEREST RATES. Banks have already started reducing interest rates on home loans and I won’t be surprised if the rates come down further to 2004-05 levels.
PRICES. With almost 2 months of absence of any sales, builders will be anxious and eager to catch up with the backlog to meet the cash flow requirements. It will only be wise to make the prices attractive to entice the customer.
STOCK MARKET. Blood bath on the stock market in the aftermath of COVID-19 will push the middle class away from SIPs and MFs. A sizable chunk can be expected to come to real estate sector.
WEAK RUPEE. NRI community which was sitting on the fence so far will make the most of the triple bonanza of a depreciated rupee, reduced home loan rates and attractive prices.
PENDING DECISIONS. There will be a sudden rush of customers who postponed their decisions due to lockdown, travel restrictions, uncertainty and anxiety.
Add to this, the increased stature of India in the eyes of international community because of the stellar role played in not only containing the pandemic but also helping other countries. This will make India the favorite destination for foreign investments, real estate being the direct beneficiary.
Are we ready?
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