Realty sector in buoyant mood: ULI-PwC report

MUMBAI: Sentiment around Indian real estate among both domestic and international investors has improved in recent times, following the election of a new government and also on account of an upturn in consumer demand, says the ‘Emerging Trends in Real Estate’ Asia Pacific 2015 report, published jointly by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Price water house Coopers (PwC).

Consequently, the rankings of Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru have improved significantly from that of last year in the list of investment destinations. This year, Mumbai occupies the 11th position (it was ranked 23rd in 2013), while Delhi and Bengaluru have taken up the 14th and 17th positions respectively. In 2013, Delhi was placed at 21st position while Bengaluru was at 20th position.

The positive sentiment, the report said, can be gauged by the fact that global real estate funds focused on India are seeking to raise $6 billion in new capital, on top of $1.6 billion raised in the first seven months of 2014; most of this is aimed at residential projects. In addition, there has been a significant rise in interest from large sovereign and foreign institutional players over the course of 2014.

Gautam Mehra, Partner, PwC India, said, “There is certainly a positive vibe complemented by the expectation of an improved economy and a more transparent environment, keeping interest levels up among investors.”