Indian Real Estate has been defined as wary for
the last few months and may continue to do so for the next few months. It is easy
to maintain that the global recessionary has had a hand in this and point fingers
on the Government's ineptitude to bring about a change similar to the promises
of the American President Barack Obama.
The RBI's monetary policy in tandem with
the economic stimuli in December 2008 and early January 2009 was aiming for
liquidity in the market to wipe damp consumer sentiments. However, blame it on petty
politics or the over-cautions approach of financial institutions or the ham-fisted
decisions in risk management of entrepreneurs and businessmen; it seems that
the economic atyachar may
continue.
The fact of the matter is that policies by
the Government and the RBI were not accepted in spirit. The Indian Institute of
Plagiarism, a disease which has spread from Bollywood to money matters saw Indian
giants seeking further help from the Government. In a letter dated the 5· of February
2009 to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Rao Chavan from the Maharashtra Chamber
of Rousing Industry (MCRI), it requested a ‘Stimulus Package for Real Estate
second demanding taxcuts and reduction of FSI rates. MCRI satirically had held
an exhibition for affordable housing in Mumbai which was quoted “a success”. It
is hard to refurbish success with hidden sordid agendas.
The RBI’s move in reduction of interest
rates was to facilitate home loan rates. SBI, like a supreme opportunist,
announced a reduction of home loans to 8%. Other factors that were underplayed
was the money margin, the loan-to-value rate increased drastically and also
Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL), its illegitimate offspring
tightened its noose to curtail mass borrowers through strict regulations on
borrowers. This would ensure that the loans are not disbursed as per the fortitudeof the stimulus packages or the RBI’s interest rates reduction. It is important
to note that the special discounted rates are applicable only for new customers
and for a limited period, after which prevailing rates will be applicable. SBI's
offer of 8% is only applicable for only one year and is valid up to May 2009. HDFC's
special rate of 9.75% for a Rs 20 lakh loan with a 20 year tenure will be
offered only up to the end of February 2009, beyond which prevailing rates will
apply.
The
length of time for which these lower rates can be availed of may be insufficient
to make a decision on buying property, and therefore may not translate into transactions.
HDFC
marks the move by SBI as a 'gimmick'. SBI retorted that the move was to kick
start demand in the market and was primarily meant for existing customers. With
SBI and RDFC fighting like a soon-to-be- divorced couple, the inconsequent worry
is what about their destructive son, CIBIL.
The Interim Budget also received a lot of
criticism which the acting finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said was for the
"aamaadmi". This can only be assumed to the overwhelming advantage rural
India has had in shaping poll outcomes.
A
laissez-faire economy talks about a minimum government intervention. Debates falred
when, in 1969, 14 banks were nationalized by Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
We have come a long way from the clutches of national bankruptcy in 1991 when theFinance Minister and the current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh broke the shacklesof Socialism and let the economy loose towards Privatization. It has been a tedious
journey since then and today adequate freedoms are promised by the state to private
sectors. But then it's a system of checks and balances that avoids extremist philosophies
like Anarcho- Capitalism or Market Anarchism. The Government has done its best
to 'stimulate' the economy but if private sectors, like the one of Real Estate,
need greater levels offoreplay then it may as well give up or chose ground breaking
innovative avenues.
This leads
on to practices employed by developers. When demand falls, prices drop too. This
particular theory has not squirmed through the ears of developers.
"When flats are more expensive, the drop
will be sharper than where the flats are cheaper. .. correction is bound to
come." HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh told reporters recently. With speculativetransactions leading to hyper inflated prices and massive land banks waiting to
be seeded, developers are holding on to their prices. In 2007, prices in Thane were
offered at Rs 3,000 per sq ft., and the prices are still at Rs 3,000 per sq ft.
Fabricated market prices by builders are negating the natural route of pricing. Al though there
have been reports that property rates are now dipping in some quarters but the
transition has not been as appropriate as expected.
Furthermore, the Government has exercised
its leniency towards foreign investment as well. Foreign investors who have less
than 50% stake in an Indian company are treated as domestic equity thus
limiting the definition of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). This widens thehorizons for non-Indian investors but also keep a vigilant glance in terms ofits characterization. There has been denigration on some quarters that this may
lead to exposure of the Indian economy to the global recessionary trends. But
this neglects that foreign investors who have the capital to invest but cannot do
so in Europe or Obama's America have India as a savior. It is a symbiotic relationship.
The realty sector has proved the most sensitive
to the prevailing economic crisis. Last month, the Realty index declined by
more than a quarter. DLF and Unitech, prominent developers, exemplified the damage.
Developers who last year bid for and won highly lucrative land deals are now struggling
to service installment payments. Notable examples of this are the BBTP bid of
Rs. 530 million per acre for a 95 acre prime commercial plot in Nodia, NCR.
Rajeev Talwar, Group Executive Director atDLF, from an interview with CNBC, was of the belief that Realty equilibrium mayreach as early as mid-2009. Cynics may deem this as too optimistic. The 'wait-and-watch'
policy has waited quite a lot ignoring Government packages and ensuing slumps. Commercial
Real Estate may salvage the ongoing recessionary trend when consumerism wakes up
again.
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