Real estate body Credai is organising a two-day conclave on “Housing, the game changer-leading to double-digit GDP growth,” in New Delhi during December 13-14.
The event, being hosted in the backdrop of general economic slowdown, pressure on real estate sector and tough environment to raise funds for new projects and high interest rates, seeks to finds ways to gain momentum contributing to the growth of the economy.
C. Sekhar Reddy, National President of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, said that the construction and real estate sector, which is the second largest employer in the country after agriculture sector, continues to be under pressure due to various regulatory issues. The conclave being held in Delhi seeks to highlight some of the concerns and present its thinking on the way forward.
Addressing a press conference along with Credai fraternity here today, he said that if some of the concerns of the real estate sector are addressed in a time-bound plan, there is immense potential for it to accelerate and contribute significantly to the growth of the economy.
“The country is likely to witness a phase of rapid urbanisation over the next 15 to 20 years and the urban population is expected to swell from the current 340 million to about 590 million. This means that the real estate sector will have to play a major role in building the necessary housing requirement to accommodate such a huge growth,” he said.
However, he felt that the sector is beset with several major concerns, which includes high tax imposts going up to nearly 35-40 per cent of the total cost of a house, increasing delays in regulatory approvals leading to cost escalation for projects and the provisions of the proposed Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill, which are detrimental to the overall growth.
Credai believes that the real estate sector has a multiplier effect on nearly 300 different industrial sectors, including steel, cement, electrical, apart from being a major employer. Therefore, it requires immediate attention from the Government in resolving its concerns to facilitate its potential growth.