What the need of the hour is for the Indian realty community

The real estate sector in this country has been going through a worrying phase of decline. There has not been a single ray of sunshine for the sector in the past few years. Things have been taking a turn for the worse over the last few years. Sales have declined while the pricing keeps going up. This is not a win-win situation for the industry nor the buyers. There are many things that have to change if the industry has to go back to its glory days. Quite recently the government of India in its union budget for the year 2017 announced that it will be giving industry status to the affordable housing sector. This will make buying affordable homes even more affordable. This is because the builders who are working in this segment will now have access to funds for their projects at cheaper interest rate. But the rest of the industry will not be able to get these benefits. It would be a step in the right direction if all of the realty sector will fall under the infrastructure umbrella. All the builders will be able to access funds with cheaper interest rate and this will make real estate a much cheaper proposition. Lack of funding is one of the key factors which delay projects. So if funding becomes available it could really kick start the industry’s growth again. One of the biggest problems faced by the sector at this point is the lack of a single window clearance system. There is a lot of bureaucratic red tape surrounding Bangalore properties and properties in all other parts of the country. The approvals process is so tedious and long drawn out that it leads to plenty of delays. This has had an adverse effect on Bangalore real estate and the real estate scene in many other parts of the country. If a single window clearance system is put into place, it will benefit both the realty sector and the consumer. There have been a few positive moves in the right direction. The year 2016 was a positive year for the realty sector. The Real Estate Regulatory Act 2016 otherwise called the RERA has been a land mark piece of legislation as far as the real estate sector is concerned. It has bestowed upon the sector what it needs desperately: regulations. The realty sector is considered to be unregulated and many people tend to stay away from it because of this. The RERA is bringing in the much needed structure to the realty sector across the country including Bangalore real estate. Another factor that could decide the future of realty pricing including that of Bangalore properties is the Goods and Services Tax. Though there is no clarity on where exactly the realty and construction sector would fall in the tax bracket of the GST, it is hoped that the GST will do the sector good than harm. The entire sector is waiting anxiously to see how the GST plays out.