Lean balance sheets to help realty

Listed real estate developers with lean balance sheets are expected to benefit from rising market share. Analysts said, India’s real estate sector, especially the unlisted space, continues to grapple with high costs as well as debt. On the other hand, the balance sheets of listed developers have become leaner. That puts them in a strong position to invest for growth and is likely to accelerate the pace of consolidation in the sector. "Listed developers in our coverage universe (EX-REITS) have been relishing the “Debt Diet” and have been able to bring down their consolidated net debt levels by 37 per cent to ~27,400 crore between March 2020 to June 2021," said a note by ICICI Securities. DLF, Oberoi Realty, Macrotech Developers (Lodha), Phoenix Mills and Brigade Enterprises are expected to gain.