Reviving Real Estate Post COVID 19

Rajan Bandelkar, President, NAREDCO Maharashtra and Convenor, Housingforall.com   The importance of reset of real estate sector The onset of COVID 19 had pushed the global economy into a recession trajectory and brought shock to labour markets of various industries. The uncertainty on the longevity of the pandemic has marked economic stress across sectors in India. Real estate is amongst the most impacted industries in the country owing to economic freeze and negative sentimental value of the home buyer.  Around 250 ancillary industries are dependent on the real estate industry which also offers employment to the unskilled labour in India. Reset of real estate industry is, therefore, important to revive the job market, bring optimism led sentimental shift and accelerate the growth engines of the economy., There are 3/few ways to revive  and channelize growth in the real estate industry   What kind of financial stimulus the sector requires? In the situation of lockdown, developer community have ensuredtaking care of the basic needs of the workers at various sites across the country. However, owing to no home inventory offtake, the revenue reserves have dried up with no liquidity reflection in the balance sheet to restart the construction post the lockdown. What is required is an immediate working capital requirement and hence, accessibility of smaller loans ranging from INR 5 lakhs to INR 5 crores from financial institutions , infusing the first tranche of financial boost to kick-start the operations at the sites.   How do you foresee the role of technology in real estate going forward? It is time for real estate to recalibrate the entire approach towards home buyers and ease the buying experience of the buyer by going digital. The Housingforall.com was conceptualized with a vision to digitalise the real estate marketplace. With an understanding that a cautious approach will be taken by new social norms post the pandemic, Housingforall.com will provide a digital intervention offering a convenient home buying experience for the buyer. Thanks to affordable internet prices in the country, a home buyer can leverage digital convenience to make a purchase   What are some of the ways to bridge demand and supply Gap? There can be many contributors to the disequilibrium of the demand-supply economics. However, it also provides an opportunity to build a brand capital keeping consumer centricity to the core. In order to achieve this, the sector needs to reassess the approach and create properties which are bound to get traction. Wellness quotient of the home property will be one of the prime factors while buying a home. New home properties will have to ensure all the health and wellness facility inside the premises with medical facilities in the vicinity of the property location.   Pandemic in the beginning of the year has highlighted that 2020 might be tough year for several sectors even after providing relief at various levels. To ensure the business continuity, sector seeks for loan packages for immediate operability post lockdown; bring sales velocity to the unsold inventory by leveraging digital channels and creating new projects which score high on health and wellness.