NAREDCO National President reaches out to Indian diaspora in GCC Countries

New Delhi, 09th OCTOBER 2018 : Telling afresh the growth story of Indian real estate, while not just communicating the message of the new regulatory regime post implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 but also bringing home the advantage of fall in value of rupee vis-à-vis the US Dollar as also the United Arab Emirate Dirham (AED), among other currencies, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, National President, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), which works under the aegis of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, reached out to the Indian diaspora in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries.

On 29 September 2018, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, addressed a media meet in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he re-told the story of India as a nation where infrastructure growth is on the Indian Government’s priority list; where post RERA and GST, buying a home is more secure experience and for the Non Resident Indian (NRI), the global currency fluctuation made buying ‘a home, back home’ an even more sweeter deal. Investment by NRIs in Indian property has doubled, from $5 billion in 2014 to $10.2 billion in 2018 as submitted by a recent survey report.

The rise in Indian real estate deals through 2018 was driven by policy changes and enhanced transparency, pointing out that new housing launches across top seven cities in India increased 27 per cent y-o-y in January-March 2018, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani added that while the Indian real estate market is expected to touch $180 billion by 2020, Housing is expected to contribute around 11 per cent to India’s GDP by 2020.

Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, National President, NAREDCO, cites reason to grab currency fluctuation opportunity in a way that, “The current scenario is similar to 2012, wherein the percentage of NRI buyers in Indian real estate in the Metro Cities ranges from 8 to 12 percent. In 2012, when the Indian currency depreciated, NRI buyers optimized the opportunity ending up with almost 25 per cent of total sales in 2012. In 2018, Indian real estate sector has witnessed a major policy transformation with RERA ACT, single window clearances, digitization of approvals online, which ultimately translates in to the win-win situation of the home buyer, especially the NRIs. Therefore, we anticipate much more traction from the NRI investment back home with an improved ecosystem and the growing GDP economy at the pace faster than the other nations of the world.” he added.

To support the prime objective of ‘Housing for All-by 2022’ set by Hon’ble Prime minister Shri Narendra Modi, the government has launched various initiatives as Smart Cities, affordable housing, PMAY, Credit Link Subsidy Scheme, etc to foster a positive situation, which is apt for expatriate Indians to invest in India. Growth in the Indian real estate market is being driven by the rapid urbanization and infrastructure growth. A recent survey mentioned India’s urban population as expected to reach 800 million in the next 30 to 35 years, becoming equal in size to India’s rural population. Given this, it has become imperative for the Indian Housing Industry to accentuate and rise to the occasion and match the demand.

“NAREDCO has been working in tandem with the goals aligned by Indian Government to provide the much needed impetus and fillip for enhancing growth in real estate. “As overseas investor sentiment turns ‘sunnier’, the NRI will be able to buy property by paying fewer dollars now. Hopefully, in the new regulatory regime, this trend will continue – not just in 2018, but also in the future,” concluded Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani.