In a virtual address while participating in the Engineer's Day celebrations Rajendra Deshpande, Chartered Engineer and Valuer, and Managing Director of PropSeva, said he is highly optimistic of the revival of real estate sector. He says “every night has an end and every cycle repeats”. He observes that today, the growth trajectory of the construction sector is at the bottom of the cusp, wherein there cannot be any more dips, and slowly and surely the graph will start moving up. It may take three to six months from now, when the growth visibility will be loud.
The construction sector, he says, has been observing a particular cycle of ups and downs every 10 years for the last few decades. “The growth trajectory steadily goes up for 6-8 years and the next 2-3 years will see a dip. Then the growth trajectory starts moving up again.”
Due to many reasons such as ‘demonetisation, implementing GST, Benami Property Act and COVID-19’, the real estate market is yet to see a recovery path for six years now, much against the normal cycle of ups and downs.
Now that all players have adjusted to the new environment, Mr. Deshpande feels the Union government’s slew of measures for revival of the economy will help . “The initial shoots of growth are visible and we all have learned to live with COVID-19. The revival of the real estate market is imminent.”
Mr. Deshpande recommends that this is the right time to buy property, as prices seem acceptable and home loans are easily available at minimum interest rates starting from 6.7% pa. “This is the lowest offered in the past 15 years. It would be ‘advantage buyer’ as the time is ripe for investment. The gamble of selecting real estate asset now may pay rich dividends to investors in the next 4-5 years. After all only when people buy will the sector wake up from slumber,” says Mr. Deshpande.
RANJANI GOVIND
