Rajasthan: ‘Realty now a better bet than high gold prices & equities’

JAIPUR: With gold prices shooting up, equities overvalued and oil price outlook having no big promise, the beaten down, bottomed out real estate sector should be the ideal destination for investors. While this is viewed as a new hope, the builders have no choice than to depend on end-users to drive the market that is held hostage to lack of economic activities, jobs, and surplus income at the hands of the working class.
“We expect the real estate sector demand to emerge from now onwards because there are no other asset classes as cheaper as real estate,” said Ashutosh Sharma, member of Credai-Rajasthan Youth Wing. Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai)-Rajasthan is the first chapter of the industry body in the country to organize a virtual expo to overcome the challenges of Covid-19 that prohibits gathering of over 50 people.
Covid-pandemic may be a coincidence, but there is a desire to select a house with less time, while not missing out on options and price range. Anushka Jain, Credai-Rajasthan Youth Wing member, said, “In the current times, buyers are looking for an accessible and less time consuming way to search for properties of their choice. Keeping this and the social distancing norms in mind, Credai Rajasthan has organised online global expo 2020, designed in keeping with the needs of the actually buyer.”
In fact, property developers also want clients who are actual buyers. As per the organisers, the virtual platform meets the objective. Mohit Jain, Credai-Rajasthan, Youth Wing member, said, “In the virtual expo that started from August 15, we might have received less visitors compared to the physical expo, but there are more actual buyers for sure. Out of the 12,000 visitors, the leads are fairly decent despite the times are being challenging. In this mode, the prospective buyers are not pushed into deals. They sit at their homes and look at the houses at their leisurely pace with nobody to unnecessarily influence them.”
Jain said that the prices of properties are already at rock-bottom and there is less scope for any reduction in prices despite the scope that some builders provide for small give-aways.
“Now, there is a far better transparency in the market. The builders have become realistic. So, the scope for over-leverage and higher speculation is virtually non-existent. Builders want to sell their properties at margins that are bare minimum,” added Jain.Pick up in real estate sector holds key to revival of many other industries. As per industry expectations, the chance of prices correcting is less than appreciation.