TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?

The residential realty market is expected to look up post-RERA and other consumer-friendly provisions, but the loopholes are hurting

The residential realty market is expected to look up post-RERA and other consumer-friendly policies, but the loopholes are hurting

The festive season is back with a bang, and it is time for mega purchases – be it couture, appliances, gold or real estate. Buying a home has always been an Indian dream, often considered a good investment, a lifetime asset and part of the social upside. And it could be especially lucrative right now as builders and promoters are sitting on huge inventories and wooing customers with discounts and freebies.

For the past four-five years, the residential real estate market had seen a steep fall in demand as prices touched the sky, so much so that last year, then Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan had called for lowering prices. Next came demonetisation that played a big spoilsport and sales dipped by an average 30 per cent during the October-December quarter compared to the previous one, according to data from real estate research firm PropEquity. But all may not be doom and gloom in this sector as consumer confidence is set to rise post a couple of big-ticket reforms – the recent implementation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act or RERA and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the government’s unprecedented focus on affordable housing.

RERA puts the onus on developers for timely development, enhanced disclosure norms, and good corporate governance. With strict penalties in place for deadline default, the new regulation is a game changer, making the market more customer-friendly. GST, too, is expected to iron out all anomalies in the supply chain, overall expenditure and additional taxes, thus benefiting under-construction projects (land or ready-to-move-in properties do