28 - 08 - 2020

CREDAI Bengal Daily News Update | 28.08.20

Developers request other states to follow Maharashtra in reducing

stamp duty

“As NCR is a very important market from real estate perspective, it is imperative that

Government of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana follow suit. This will certainly revitalise

demand and help in employment generation as well,” said Achal Raina, COO, Raheja

Developers, which is executing residential project in Gurgaon and Delhi.

Real estate developers in North India are demanding reduction in stamp duty on the line of

government of Maharashtra, which has reduced the stamp duty on property registrations to 2%

for transactions between September 1 and December 31 from current 5%.

The stamp duty will be 3% for agreements to be registered between January 1 and March end in

Maharashtra.

“Real estate is one of the biggest job creator industry and reduction in stamp duty will increase

the sales and creation of more job. Many customers are not paying the balance amount and will

have to pay if they have to do the registry. Reduction in stamp duty will encourage them to pay

the balance amount, resulting into liquidity,” said Uddhav Poddar, MD of Rajasthan based

Bhumika Group.

Bhumika group is executing two malls in Rajasthan’s Udaipur and Alwar and has written to the

finance minister and Rajasthan’s chief secretary for reduction in stamp duty.

“As NCR is a very important market from real estate perspective, it is imperative that

Government of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana follow suit. This will certainly revitalise

demand and help in employment generation as well,” said Achal Raina, COO, Raheja

Developers, which is executing residential project in Gurgaon and Delhi.

Developers body have been demanding for reduction in stamp duty for limited period to boost

sales.

“The fiscal advantage extended by the Maharashtra government will make many fence-sitters to

take a decision on buying the home of their choice. Lower interest rate and stable prices may

also work in their favour. We expect other states to follow the path, which would boost sales of

the properties and help the sector recover faster,” said Manoj Gaur, MD, Gaurs Group and

Chairman, Affordable Housing Committee, CREDAI (National).

According to Mohit Goel, CEO, Omaxe Ltd, lack of demand in the real estate sector has been a

concern.

Newspaper/Online The Economic Times ( online )

Date August 27, 2020

Link

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/property-/-

cstruction/developers-request-other-states-to-follow-maharashtra-in-reducing-

stamp-duty/articleshow/77783896.cms

“While supply side issues have been adequately addressed by the government and the RBI, the

recent decision of the Maharashtra government to slash stamp duty is a welcome step in the

direction of shoring up demand. In fact, other state governments must follow suit and initiate

cuts so that it encourages home buyers to make purchases, expedite construction and delivery

and clear up inventory,” said Goel.

Reduction in stamp duty, apart from supporting the state exchequer, is expected to support the

revival of sluggish real estate market in the country.

“We hope that other states will adopt a similar strategy as it will boost demand for homes and

help in the revival of the economy. The other notable benefits of lowering duty is that it

increases compliance and hence, may positively impact exchequers revenue,” said Dhruv

Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com.

According to Prashant Solomon, Managing Director, Chintels India Ltd, it will boost the

sentiments of the industry. “We hope that this is done across the country as it will help both

buyers and developers and boost the industry,” he said. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

From study rooms to small towns, India is changing the way it

thinks

Buying freeze

With the coronavirus pandemic affecting the world on a deep level, the number of people

buying homes has dropped dramatically - over 70% lower - since COVID-19 became part of

daily life.

Recovery

Demand in the housing market has slowly picked up, with the Centre lifting restrictions and

allowing for various activities to resume, while not yet back to its height, the market is getting

queries from buyers but people’s focus has changed, here’s how

Office spaces

Homebuyers are increasingly focusing on having a dedicated alcove for their work-from-home

needs, especially now, with many employers pushing for an extended home-work situation as

the pandemic doesn’t look like receding any time soon.

Commuters not worried

Office goers who used to fret about finding public transport routes and travelling distances are

not so bothered anymore, owing to the homebound situation and with many companies looking

to make remote working a more permanent solution, home owners don’t really need to

commute.

Newspaper/Online The Economic Times ( online )

Date August 27, 2020

Link

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/property-/-cstruction/from-

study-rooms-to-small-towns-india-is-changing-the-way-it-thinks/commuters-not-

worried/slideshow/77784025.cms

False promises?

But most important on new homeowners’ lists is the credibility of a project, they’re looking for

developers who they know will deliver their house on time, even adjusting for the pandemic.

With many projects delayed, trust seems to be the demand of the hour.

_____________________________________________________________________

Sale deed registration witnesses 31% drop in Ernakulam: Data

As many as 2,312 sale deeds were registered in June and 2,398 in July, a drop of 33% and

31% respectively compared to the same in January.

The registration of sale deeds in Ernakulam witnessed a drop of around 30% compared to the

pre-lockdown period, as per the data with the registration department. The number of sale deeds

registered was 3,484 in January and 3,494 in February.

Once the lockdown restrictions were almost completely relaxed in June, registration of sale

deeds also rebounded but with a slight drop of 31% compared to the pre-lockdown period.

As many as 2,312 sale deeds were registered in June and 2,398 in July, a drop of 33% and 31%

respectively compared to the same in January.

But real estate consultants say that the sector is yet to witness a rebound. But they admit things

have started to change compared to the previous months.

“Those expressing willingness to buy flats quote the lowest amount. People are not willing to

invest in the real estate sector due to uncertainty. Shortage of offers also dissuade many from

investing in the sector. As only 30% of the staff in IT companies in Infopark work from office,

there are not many takers for rented houses or apartments in and around Kakkanad area,” said

an official associated with a real estate consultancy firm.

“Though many techies have vacated the rented facilities, these vacant apartments have now

started to welcome new tenants. There are no takers for numerous apartments in highrise

residential buildings in Ernakulam. Things have slightly improved in the city limits as business

has resumed to its maximum,” the official added.

Environmentalists say that property dealings have not taken a hit like in the demonitisation

period.

“As per 2011 census, there were 11 lakh vacant houses in the state. The number is expected to

reach 20 lakh to 22 lakh in the 2021 census. It shows that the real estate sector witnesses an

increase in speculative buying.

We do not have natural resources for such luxury. If we continue with constructing more

buildings, it can only lead to irreversible ecological damage. Government should intervene to

Newspaper/Online ET Realty ( online )

Date August 27, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/sale-deed-

registration-witnesses-31-drop-in-ernakulam-data/77777057

regulate the building spree of people, for the sake of the state and future generations.

There should also be regulation on space while constructing buildings. Our priority should be

completion of houses for the homeless but that is not happening in Kerala,” says Sridhar

Radhakrishnan, director of Thanal, an NGO based in Thiruvananthapuram.

________________________________________________________________

Realty sector to witness up to 60% decline in residential sales

volume in FY21: Icra

According to ratings agency Icra, the collections from customers are also expected to

decline by around 35-40 per cent.

Liquidity starved real estate sector is expected to witness a 40-60 per cent decline in residential

sales volumes this fiscal due to COVID-19 pandemic, ratings agency says Icra.

According to the agency, the collections from customers are also expected to decline by around

35-40 per cent.

Maintaing a negative outlook for the real estate sector, the agency noted that the overall sales

volume from completed and under-construction inventory is expected to reduce by 40-60 per

cent.

“The preference for completed inventory is expected to continue thus favouring the developers

having higher proportion of such projects.

However, the steep reduction in home loan rates may aid housing demand to some extent, with

home loan interest rates having dropped below 8 per cent for the first time in 15 years,” the

agency said.

It noted that committed receivables from already booked sales have also been impacted, given

that some milestone based payments have been deferred due to stoppage of construction

activities earlier.

Icra also expects the spends on ongoing projects to reduce by around 30 per cent in FY21 on

account of the pandemic.

Newspaper/Online Financial Express ( online )

Date August 27, 2020

Link https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/realty-sector-to-witness-up-to-60-

decline-in-residential-sales-volume-in-fy21-icra/2067485/

“New launches, which were already on a declining trend given the increased focus on

deliveries, are likely to get further deferred,” it said.

Icra further said the overall project cash flows are expected to be impacted by slower collections

leading to reduced inflows.

“While there will be reduction in project spends as well, the reduction in inflows is likely to

remain higher than the reduction in outflows, leading to lower net operating cash flows and

higher dependence on other forms of liquidity/refinancing,” it said.

According to Icra, higher rated clients have maintained considerable liquidity buffers, which

can be used to meet project costs and debt obligations.

Also, many companies have availed moratorium to bring down debt repayments, which coupled

with automatic reduction in collection-linked prepayments, has provided some relief to the

developers.

“Going forward though, adequacy of operating cash flows to meet scheduled repayment

obligations will remain a key look-out area, with developer ability to refinance or carry out one-

time restructuring of debt obligations under the recently announced government relief measure,

in case of a cashflow gap remaining critical,” it said.

However, firms with adequate balance sheet strength, available liquidity, financial flexibility,

refinancing ability and a well-diversified project portfolio under varying stages of execution,

spread across different geographies and segments are expected to be better positioned to absorb

disruptions in operating cash flows.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Will hand over 85,000 homes in GHMC limits by December:

Telangana Minister

"The government will hand over a total of 85 thousand dignity houses in GHMC limits by

December 2020. No metro city in the country has constructed such a large number of

dignity houses under any program," KT Rama Rao said.

Telangana IT, Industries and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao on Wednesday

said that the government will hand over a total of 85,000 dignity houses in Greater Hyderabad

Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits by December 2020.

Rao made the remarks during a review meeting on the status of dignity housing schemes in

Hyderabad.

"The government will hand over a total of 85 thousand dignity houses in GHMC limits by

December 2020. No metro city in the country has constructed such a large number of dignity

houses under any program," he said.

During the meeting, the Minister instructed the officials to finalize the beneficiaries list by mid-

September. He also asked the officials to visit the dignity housing sites and inspect the

construction works.

"The government has allocated a total of Rs 9,700 crores for the construction of these houses.

The Government will construct one lakh houses, with about 4000 houses each in 24

constituencies of Hyderabad. Beginning from this month until December, the government will

be handing over the dignity houses to the beneficiaries," an official release said.

As construction works at most of the sites are in the finishing stage, the Minister asked the

officials to also speed up the development of infrastructure facilities including water supply,

electricity, and other amenities.

The officials informed the Minister that a total of 75,000 2BHK dignity houses and 10,000

dignity houses under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and

Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) will be ready by the end of this December.

Minister asked the officials to identify the beneficiaries who handed over the land for

construction of 2 BHK dignity houses and update their details at the earliest.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty ( online )

Date August 27, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/will-hand-over-

85000-homes-in-ghmc-limits-by-december-telangana-minister/77781181

Gujarat: Draft land grabbing prohibition act approved

Since the Assembly is not in session, the government will bring an ordinance to make

provisions of the proposed law operational with immediate effect, said an official release.

The Gujarat government on Wednesday decided to bring a strict law, with provision of up to

14-year jail term, to curb land grabbing activity in the state.

A proposal to bring a new law, called "Gujarat Land Grabbing Prohibition Act", with stringent

provisions was approved at a meeting of the state Cabinet, Revenue Minister Kaushik Patel told

reporters in Gandhinagar.

Since the Assembly is not in session, the government will bring an ordinance to make

provisions of the proposed law operational with immediate effect, said an official release.

Under the proposed legislation, special courts will be set up to ensure that such cases are

disposed of within six months, said the release, adding the burden of proof will be on the

accused.

Those found guilty of land grabbing will be liable for 10 years to 14 years of imprisonment and

penalty equivalent to the jantri (government) rate of the land in question, it said.

While the government would appoint a special public prosecutor to speed up trial, special courts

will be empowered to take up any land grabbing case suo motu, said the release.

The legislation will cover both public as well as privately-owned land, including those of

farmers, trusts and religious bodies, it said.

The release said the stringent provisions of the proposed law would help rein in land mafias

who take control of precious government or private land through forged documents or by

threatening their owners.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty ( online )

Date August 27, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/gujarat-draft-land-

grabbing-prohibition-act-approved/77777025