Housing enquiries limited to affordable homes: Developers Say no to new projects, first priority is to clear old inventory

The real estate market which has been sluggish for the last five months due to Covid 19 has started getting queries but limited to affordable housing. Developers’ body Builders Association of Navi Mumbai (BANM) says their first priority is to sell old inventory as most of the developers do not want to invest in new projects.

As economic activities are opening up under the Unlock 4, the real estate sector which is the prime business in Navi Mumbai, has started getting enquiries. Developers are getting queries for affordable houses, and they are expecting business in days to come.

Haresh Chheda, president of BANM says that developers are pushing their old inventories at the moment. “There are hardly developers who have new projects. Most of them are relying on old inventory,” said Chheda. He added that there are around 15,000 inventories across Navi Mumbai.

There are multiple challenges before developers from liquidity to demand. “The demand has shrunk as there is a job loss at senior levels. This has happened first time that people lost jobs at the senior position that has severely impacted the chance to revive the market sooner,” said Chheda.

Praskash Baviskar, president of MCHI CREDAI Navi Mumbai says that the delay in infrastructure in areas falling under the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) is also posing a challenge in revival. “Developers are getting queries from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. But the affordable house which is possible in NAINA does not have the infrastructure,” said Baviskar. He added that they had put all their issues before the CIDCO. However, the recent transfer of officials in CIDCO has delayed the necessary permissions.

Baviskar said that delays in infrastructure delay the project handover. “There is a need of a body similar to

RERA that addresses issues with the local body’s permissions,” said Baviskar. He added that if all the documents are in order and the project is ready, there should not be a delay in giving the occupation certificate.

While developers are getting queries, real estate brokers say, the customer is making hard bargaining. “Even customer understands that there is low demand and they can bargain at this moment,” said Umesh Shah, a real estate broker. However, Chheda believes that after inventory exhaust, there is a sharp rise in property prices as the availability of new projects will be very low. “As developers are away from new projects, we cannot expect addition in inventory in the next couple of years,” added Chheda.