Tag: Housing and Urban Development

Gurugram leads in affordable housing

By Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global Group, Chairman, ASSOCHAM, National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development

With improved demand and supply in the affordable housing market, the real estate sector, which has been going through a rough patch for the past few years, is gaining traction in Delhi-NCR. According to a report by property consultant Anarock, affordable housing — defined as units costing less than Rs 45 lakh — has seen the highest demand since the pandemic hit the nation. In 2020, affordable housing accounted for 40% of demand, up from 31% in Covid-19 — a 9% rise. Nearly 38 percent of the overall affordable housing demand in the country came from Delhi-NCR. Affordable Housing in Gurgaon accounted for 32 percent of total demand in the Delhi-NCR region, led by Greater Noida (24 percent).

Between 2018 and 2020, 79,840 affordable units were introduced in Delhi-NCR. Nearly half of these were in the affordable category. Last year, a total of 18,540 units were available, with affordable housing accounting for 61% of the total. The supply and demand are in harmony. Gurugram has the most affordable housing stock, with 6,590 affordable units out of 11,180 new units launched last year. Between 2018 and 2020, Signature Global, a leader in affordable housing, launched 19 affordable projects. Gurugram has the highest demand, with 32 percent, followed by Greater Noida (24 percent), Noida (18 percent), Delhi (12 percent), Ghaziabad (8 percent), and Faridabad (6 percent).

According to the most recent update to the Affordable Housing Policy, each dwelling unit now has one free parking space. Furthermore, the state government’s increase in the project area cap through this amendment would encourage many reputable real estate players to come forward and create affordable housing, which has long been in demand. An increase in the commercial area of a project, which means more margins for developers coping with low income, is another boon to the sector.

In the last few decades, the economic growth in Gurgaon has supported accelerated urbanization and growth of the migrant population coming to the millennium city offering maximum employment opportunities. Rapid development in on MG Road and Cyber City created a ripple effect and pushed developments to new Gurgaon and the southern parts of Gurugram; this led to the emergence of new areas like Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and Sohna Road – taking you to the Sohna town. Sohna’s real estate market is led by affordable and mid-segment housing. Emphasis on affordable housing is also pushing further the development of this region where more than 40 percent is under Rs 50 lakh.

Talking of Affordable Housing in Gurgaon, sector 95 is the area that is popular and Signature Global Aspire is a project which opens for application till 18 April 2021. The project offers 2BHK units in 22.45 lakh and offers all major amenities.

Signature Global has two projects in South of Gurugram — Serenas and Signature Global Park, under Haryana Affordable Housing Policy and Deendayal Awaas Yojana respectively. Serena’s has been sold out and SG Park’s first phase is ready for delivery.

3 BHK floors on Sohna Road is in demand

By Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global Group, Chairman, ASSOCHAM, National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development

The demand for 3 BHK floors has increased in the post Covid-19 situation as people are looking for spacious properties. The realization of the importance of one’s home has dawned on people as they have seen the difficulties faced in problematic situations such as this global pandemic where many tenants faced a hard time dealing with the landlords. Gurugram is seeing maximum sale in this segment; 3 BHK floors in Sohna Gurgaon are getting attention due to the competitive pricing and impeccable locational advantage.

People are specifically looking for gated complexes that have a retail hub, swimming pool, open green areas, kids play area, multipurpose court, skating rink, and seating areas. Another advantage of 3 BHK floors on Sohna Road is that soon-to-come-up Badshahpur elevated road is in the vicinity, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and multiplexes around this area will soon be operational. Educational institutions (GD Goenka, Pathways, DPS, KR Mangalam), hotels (The Taj Gateway Resorts, The Westin – Sohna Resort and Spa, Country Inn at a distance of 5 min), hospitals, and malls are close by. Signature Global has Signature Global Park in Sector 36, Sohna, South of Gurugram is situated at a distance of just 20 minutes from Rajeev Chowk, the premium project is being developed under Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna. The varied options in the project include Independent Premium Floors, Stilt car parking + 4 Independent Floors of 2 BHK (951.43 sq ft) and 3 BHK (1081.67 sq ft). The project has perfect location as more than six reputed Schools are within a 15 km radius, Sohna Elevated Road (under construction), Shopping Malls with leading brands are 15 km away, hotels in 15 km Radius, 11 Multiplex Screens to be functional soon, Office Complexes and Business Hubs in the neighborhood, adventure park in the vicinity, and lush green environment.

The Group has been showing seriousness towards ‘Housing for All’ target, and is making significant contribution to meet the housing need of people by providing homes that suit their requirement. Till date, the Group has already launched 22094 units under Haryana Affordable Housing Scheme & Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna, and have delivered 2983 units to date.

Gurugram has been performing extremely well due to Haryana Government’s constant support. The State Government brought in amendments in Haryana’s Affordable Housing Policy. Haryana has a model policy that is most suitable for the development of this segment. Haryana Cabinet’s decisions to push affordable housing has led to an increase of total limit for grant of Affordable Group Housing Colony in a sector to 30 acres, also extending the Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna to Gurugram Development Plan. The biggest advantage in DDJAY floors is that each floor is separately registered and a buyer can avail benefits of CLSS according to his/her eligibility on securing a floor.

Gurugram realtors calls for rationalizing of circle rates

In a sudden move, the Gurugram administration decided to increase the circle rate by up to 90% at some of the posh localities of the city, at a time when the real estate sector is still recovering from the setback by COVID19. The revived circle rate came into effect on April 8. The city realtors called out to the administrators to look into the matter and roll back the increase as it can have cascading effects on the city’s growing sales, which have been better than the neighbouring cities in NCR.

Sanjeev Arora, Director, 360 Realtors, says, “Instead of increasing the circle rates by 90%, the administration should have stayed only with its decision of November 2020 of imposing additional tax liability where the differential between market price and circle rate is up to 20%. The current decision will dent the real estate market, which is in the revival mode after the COVID situation. In all our dealings with the buyers, we have concluded that they are looking for respite. Right now, the developer community is using all means to help the buyer realize their dream of owning a real estate asset, but the community needs support from the government. The rates in Gurugram are already high, and we hope that the administration realizes it.”

The Gurugram administrations’ decision to increase circle rates cannot be justified when other states are reducing stamp duties. For quite some time, the developer community has been demanding a cut in circle rates to infuse confidence in the market; the circle rates were already very high, and this increase will prove detrimental for the realty sector. Achal Raina, COO, Raheja Developers, says, “We have to look at states that are trying to help the buyers save money in these challenging times. We have examples where states have reduced stamp duty, and Gurugram has gone ahead with an increase in circle rates. We request the administration to deliberate on the ways to help the real estate sector in the city. The demand in the city is high, and we have been witnessing a good number of sales; this will automatically mean good revenue. However, increased circle rates will force the buyers to go into the shell, which will affect the revival.”

The real estate market has been in the revival mode as buyers have been thronging to get hold of a real estate asset. According to JLL Q1 Residential Market Update – Q1 2021 report, the Delhi NCR market has performed much better than all other major cities in terms of new launches, as the region witnessed a jump of 111% in Q1 2021 over Q4 2020. Compared with Q1 2020, NCR added approximately 6,750 units in Q1 2021, a Y-o-Y increase of 9%; out of the total, approximately 52% of the new supply was in the affordable segment, according to ANAROCK’s Q1 2021 data. The number of launches in Gurugram is better, which points to the demand for property in the city.

When Maharashtra reduced the stamp duty, it recorded around 12,000 property registrations in March; the state also decided to maintain a status quo on circle rates. The state government decided in August 2020 to reduce the stamp duty on selling deed documents registered between September 1 and December 31, 2020, by 3%. From January 1 to March 31, 2021, the relaxation proceeded with a 2% reduction; Resultantly, Mumbai saw a surge in property registrations.

Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global Group, Chairman, ASSOCHAM, National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development, says, “This year, the Delhi government has decreased the circle rates. We were expecting that the Haryana government would decrease the circle rates. The move to hike the rates would discourage investors from buying properties. The sector needs support from the government, and buyers are also looking at ease of buying. On its part, the real estate sector has kept the prices subdued for years now despite rising raw material cost; buyers constantly looking for some respite in prices, which is only possible through a reduction in circle rates and stamp duty. We urge the administration to look into the matter and take preventive measure.”