Budget to fuel investments in real estate, say experts

New Delhi [India], February 1 : Real estate players said on Monday the Union Budget 2021 contains several measures to strengthen infrastructure and attract investments for kickstarting the economy amid Covid-19 pandemic.
Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India, said the Budget announcements relating to monetisation of infrastructure and real estate assets will help increase private sector participation.
They will assist the government in enhancing fund flow for development of critical infrastructure assets. "The government has also continued its focus on affordable housing segment by extension of tax benefit by one year," said Baijal.
"Further, the relaxation on tax compliance for real estate investment trust (REIT) investors will further improve the marketability of such products and we are likely to witness new REITs this year," he added.
Ram Raheja, Director of S Raheja Realty, said the Budget can further fuel investment and help the organised real estate sector to prosper.
"The positive sentiment the Budget has generated has shown its impact on markets and is likely to help continue the upswing in property buying too," he said.
Rohit Poddar, Managing Director of Poddar Housing and Development Ltd, said the extension on deduction on payment of interest by one more year for affordable housing will help in offering the much-needed convenience for a home buyer.
"Affordable housing tax holiday extension up to March 2022 will boost the recent momentum in housing demand. The single registration system for migrant workers is a positive aspect for companies to reduce the hassle and focus on the larger development," he said.
Rohit Gera, Managing Director of Gera Developments, said the government has continued on its stated path of doing away with sector-specific sops.
"In light of this, extension of interest rate deduction for home buyers as well as extension of tax holiday for affordable projects by one more year is welcome," he said adding that simplification of processes and rules for SME segment will help ease the cost and efforts of compliance.
Surendra Hiranandani, Chairman and Managing Director of the House of Hiranandani, said though real estate has not got anything directly from this budget, there are announcements that will indirectly help the sector.
"Allotment of a massive capital expenditure corpus in order to enhance and support national highway projects, roads and other ancillary infrastructure shows the continued commitment of the government to strengthen connectivity across the country which in turn will largely improve real estate over the next few years," he said.
Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants, said the extension of the tax holiday for affordable housing projects for one more year will help bring in more new supply within this segment.
Reduction of customs duty on steel to 7.5 per cent will create some space for real estate developers who may not be in a position to increase prices immediately.
"The announcement to set up seven mega textile parks with plug-and-play facility in three years will unlock the potential of new markets for development and provide an impetus to real estate assets, including logistics and warehousing," said Puri.
Rajesh Binner, Founder and CEO of new-age proptech firm YieldAsset Real Estate Tech Pvt Ltd, said the proposed nationalised asset management company to take over stressed assets will stimulate growth and bring a certain level of stability for commercial realty sector.
"With many new businesses coming up, demand for modern office environments is definitely on the rise -- both from traditional companies and new innovative start-ups."