Despite an economy growing at 8% and a buoyant real estate market, in a recent FICCI-Ernst & Young study called “Realty Decoded”, India was ranked fifth in the overall country index of attractiveness for foreign direct investors.
While China was ranked as the most attractive destination for FDI, two countries which are actually going through a prolonged recession — the US and the UK were placed second and third respectively while Singapore was in the fourth spot.
Interestingly all these countries lagged behind India when it came to the Country Development Index (denoting the rate of economic growth) and the Real Estate Market Index (denoting the demand supply situation). What pulled India's attractiveness down was the poor score it got on Regulatory Index which captures state of the regulatory environment and the low score for the Real Estate Industry Index which looks at the state of maturity and transparency of the industry.
Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI, says, "With projections of over 8% growth expected this fiscal, investors are returning to India with greater confidence. The future of Indian real estate would significantly depend on investor friendly policies, clear and transparent regulatory framework for the sector."
Commenting on the study, Mayur Shah, MD, Marathon Realty says, "At $5 - 7 billion the volume that has come from FDI or NRI investments is still minuscule, whereas we need close to a $100 billion in the next few years." He however points out that there are many issues that need to be ironed out to keep the momentum on. "We need to really work on our laws and straighten them as soon as we can. Easier availability of land and higher FSI would enable us to build more. The approvals should come faster and the hurdles of funding should be removed."
"We are spending too much time worrying if bubbles will form in case we let more lands to develop too soon. What we fail to see is that it will increase supply and reduce the gap sooner, which would even out the tendency for the prices to spiral," Shah adds.
Jayant Gehi, Assistant Vice President, Supreme Universal points out that the exit points for investors and the size of investment also constrain the investors in locations such as Mumbai and Delhi where large -sized projects are difficult to come across. "This restricts participation in the bulk of the development happening currently. The limitation has boosted investment in tier II locations such as Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore where larger land parcels are available," he says.
International property consultants say that going forward much will depend on the way the functioning of the industry and the laws pan out. Santhosh Kumar, CEO - Operations, Jones Lang LaSalle, India, says, "The level of interest that foreign investors will display in Indian real estate will depend significantly on the market's growth and potential for growth. We are seeing economic recovery, and this is doing much to reinvigorate the interest of foreign investors in India's real estate market. However, we still need to edge up the transparency ladder, get more proactive on completing pending infrastructure projects and provide faster clearances for large developments. In other words, the issue does not hinge solely on what the Indian real estate has to offer to global investors, but also on what confidence it inspires in them to invest into it."
Gulam Zia, National Director, Research and Advisory Services, Knight Frank, India is more cautious "Although the real estate is attracting better FDI, it is not significant yet as the investors are still wary. Too many delays, false promises and confusing laws make it difficult for them to bolster confidence.
"The most worrying issue has been valuations which are mostly projected at unrealistic levels. The returns have not been too satisfactory and project delays have given further jitters. The other issue has been the lack of clarity surrounding land titles. There is a need for good and uniform regulations to tackle these issues, and these need to be addressed at the earliest,"says Zia.
Rajiv Sahni, Partner, Transaction Advisory Services, Ernst & Young, India, in his foreword to the report sums the situation succinctly. "With fears of another collapse looming large, growing Eastern European, certain Western European
and Dubai markets walking a tightrope, and a real estate bubble potentially threatening China due to oversupply, experts continue to express serious concerns around sustainable revival in the near term." "Closer to home, rising real estate prices have raised an alarm, highlighting the need for developers to employ new money judiciously to complete projects and provide timely exits to private equity players in order to restore confidence in the Indian growth story. With the IPO /entity level market still under pressure, a testing period awaits the Indian developer community," says Rajiv Sahni.
Sahni highlights the role by the government and regulators like the Reserve Bank of India by saying, "Careful planning by the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to control inflation, make finance available to actual users on reasonable terms, enforce accountability and create a climate that is conducive to transparency will be imperative to ensure that there is no tailspin from recent events and that India achieves its vision of affordable housing for all."
The report concludes that "With real estate markets across the globe vacillating between boom and bust phases, we are certainly in the throes of exciting times. The world is becoming smaller, as is the real estate industry across the globe. With the floodgates for investment in real estate being more open than ever before, the time is ideal for investors to take advantage of the opportunities being offered."
Courtesy times property dtd 10/10/2010
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