As there is a very old saying – “Roti, Kapada aur Makaan” are the three basic needs of an average Indian family. These values are imbibed from childhood and made as an aspiration to earn at least this much for the family and then move beyond. The sector has been ever-growing and has come across all the possible hurdles from time to time. Let it be economic depression in 2008 – 2010, Covid – 19 Pandemic. One of the rare identities that have come really strong post these disturbances and data to justify it. Not only post covid but also the demand for real estate kept on rising during the covid circumstances.

If we talk about India’s real estate sector off-late, the real estate sector is witnessing a phenomenal increase in demand in 2022, especially the demand for bigger houses and office spaces, the reason being simple. With the day by day increasing work from homework for all the salaried/personal business households or kids taking their classes for school and home tuition or job aspirants, all need more space to fulfil the space that is required.  Now wonder if the momentum is expected to hold for the rest of the year and much beyond. From residential spaces to commercial marketplaces, the overall market outlook is set to get brighten the industry scenario of real estate.

The first wave of Covid swept across the country during the first half of the year 2020. A nationwide lockdown presented an unprecedented fear and a standstill all over. To make this worse the global scenario was not supportive either. Even the real estate players felt the fear and were in a shock wave and were thinking about the strategy from now on. But little do they realize, by now some of the high-end corporates announced lifetime work from home, and a lot many small businesses could manage to work from home, raising the demand for bigger houses to keep up to the pace. So did the sense of uncertainty prevailed and people wanted to keep secure within their own houses. No wonder the last quarter of the year 2020 showed some resilience and the quarter saw steady growth. The real estate outlook started to look up but then the second wave of Covid-19 hit the sector. By now, taking a clue from the last experience the real estate players were not only ready but strategize accordingly. Fortunately, this wave was not as hard as the first wave and by now people were better ready unlike the first wave, the ramifications of the second wave were not as prolonged or prominent.

The sector kept on reviving itself and buoyed by these factors, the sector made a strong comeback. The sector witnessed a steady growth in Q3 2021 and is probably better prepared for similar situations. JLL, in their report for the residential category, quoted that the residential sales witnessed an upward trend and a whopping increase of 65% is seen on a sequential basis which as it is shows the likely trend. However the first quarter of 2022 is yet again showing the same trend and the additional benefits from a regime of low interest rates, coupled with duty waivers (in some states), realistic property pricing, and attractive offers leading to affordable synergy. The Nifty50 index shows that the real estate sector has risen by 75% and is the second-best performing sector index. Bolstered by historically-low loan rates and temporary stamp cuts, the real estate has made one of the strongest comebacks and is surely expected to outdo the other players for the rest of the year and beyond.

• 2022 – The year for real estate

The year 2022 is touted to be the year for Real Estate, where the sector in India is bulging with the growth of 5% capital value growth in 2022 only in the residential segment whereas the commercial segment will see even better results. Thanks but no thanks to Covid 19, the threat is still looming and it is perceived to be far from over hence the who’s who of the industry has projected that the sales momentum is expected to increase in the year 2022 as prospective homebuyers will continue as they will prefer bigger homes, better amenities, higher lifestyle lower-interest rates, resulting in better pricing and yet again the fresh wave around the world, especially in Europe and American Continents is yet again threatening for a possible work from home possibilities. However as the office work has already resumed in most of the sectors, the rentals will be in check due to the earlier losses and the rentals will not be astonishing. Additionally, the luxury housing market is poised to touch new heights in the coming year.

• The budget effect

A number of initiatives have been undertaken by the Government of India focussing on keeping the pace of the real estate sector and incentivizing the whole process. The Union Budget 2022-2023 surely will help in creating a thriving atmosphere in the real estate sector.

No wonder the government continues to prioritize the affordable housing segment and at the same time finding out on the ways to strengthen the existing financing systems to provide more and more liquidity to stuck real estate projects. In the first week of December, the Government of India extended the deadline to provide pucca houses to all families in rural India to 2024. The Cabinet decided that the flagship rural scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin will be provided INR 2.17 lakh crore in additional Central and State funding to achieve its target of building 2.95 crore houses.

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has announced that it will be keeping the repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged for the tenth consecutive time. Setting the tone for the year, MPC gave a clear indication that it is growth oriented. Holding the interest will help in increasing the affordability for the consumer and help in holding the current demand trends.

• Continuing growth

NITI Aayog expects that the Indian real estate sector will reach a market size of $1 trillion by 2030 and will account for 13 per cent of India’s GDP by 2025. Already the third-largest sector to bring about economic growth, the real estate industry is expected to continue its upward trajectory in 2022