For many city dwellers, owning a home is always a distant dream. Unaffordable real estate prices compel them to stay in rented properties instead. However, several events and trends taking shape now could soon turn that dream into a reality.
The government’s surprise move to clamp down on black money hoarders through the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes is expected to have a cooling effect on certain pockets of the residential market in the country. The housing market is a hot-bed for the indiscriminate use of black money. Many developers, resellers and homebuyers insist on having hard cash as a component of payment in real estate deals.
The recent ban on high value currency notes is expected to deal a body blow to this practice. Another likely side effect of the move is a down ward pressure on the interest rate structure. This would come as a relief to people who cannot afford the high EMIs on housing loans. In addition to these factors, many developers are also aggressively turning towards the affordable housing segment. This effectively opens up another avenue for those who find themselves priced out of the housing market in metropolitan cities.
Further, with many states likely to enforce the buyer friendly provisions of the Real Estate Regulatory Act, homebuyers can expect more transparency. This would also provide them protection from delays in construction and handover, as well as other unscrupulous practices employed by developers. In the following pages, we will outline the opportunities these developments are likely to present for homebuyers, and delve into the emergence of the affordable housing segment.