Real estate industry leaders are applauding Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's proposed amendment to the Finance Bill, which aims to provide significant relief on capital gains tax in property transactions.
Investors in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are poised to benefit from new tax regulations as proposed in the Union Budget, which align the long-term capital gains (LTCG) holding period of these assets with that of listed equity shares. This adjustment, which has been a long-standing demand of the industry, reduces the holding period for determining LTCG for listed business trusts from 36 months to 12 months, putting REITs and InvITs on par with listed equities.
The listed companies in the real estate sector lost Rs 6,480 crore worth of market value till Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget speech on Tuesday announced the removal of indexation benefits on the sale of property. Stock market data shows the listed stocks recovered part of their losses on Friday but ended the week with a net loss compared to the day before the Budget was presented. The total market valuation of real estate sector companies was Rs 6.98 trillion as of Friday.
Steep price rise over the past three years, post-pandemic, in the housing market is now creating a bubble that has a downside risk of driving away a section of the potential homebuyers, cautions Dhruv Agarwala, Group Chief Executive Officer, Housing.com, PropTiger.com. Since the second wave of the COVID pandemic receded in mid-2021, property prices have been rising steadily. The price rise has been steep in the residential real estate market as potential homebuyers and fence sitters joined the market to purchase their dream homes.
The global real estate market is undergoing significant transformations, with emerging trends reshaping how cities grow and evolve. This shift is particularly noticeable in India’s tier 2 cities, where rapid urbanisation, improved infrastructure, and increased investor interest are driving growth. Cities like Lucknow, Meerut, Mathura, Moradabad, Dehradun, Ayodhya, and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh are at the forefront of this transformation, reflecting a broader trend influenced by global real estate practices.
Top-listed real estate players in India are experiencing exceptional business growth, driven by strong consumer demand and increased sales. Many developers have reported record-breaking pre-sales in the 2023-24 fiscal year, highlighting their robust market performance. Significant increases in market capitalization and sales bookings reflect the industry’s positive trajectory.
Online property search portal NoBroker has observed a 23% increase in the number of homebuyers aged between 25-35 years on the platform, the proptech unicorn said in its half-yearly report. Those under 45 years of age constituted 57% of the total buyers on the property portal, it added. The term millennials or Generation Y is employed to refer to individuals born between 1981 and 1996. “They don’t see property ownership as the biggest milestone but as a means of building wealth and to establish stability early on in life,” the report said.
A total of 23,811 people have received ownership rights of their properties under the Pradhan Mantri Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY) till July 16 this year, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday. In a written reply to a question, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu said the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has received 1,22,729 applications for ownership rights under the PM-UDAY. "The number of people conferred with ownership rights under the PM-UDAY scheme till July 16 is 23,811," the minister said.
Gurugram-based flexible workspace provider Incuspaze has raised $8 million in its maiden funding round which was led by India Inflection Opportunity Fund, the co-working player said in a statement. Launched in 2022, the India Inflection Opportunity Fund (IIOF), a category-2 alternate investment fund (AIF) with a fund size of ₹500 crore.
As rains batter Mumbai and cases of waterlogging get reported across the city, the biggest casualties is the city’s real estate sector. According to real estate experts, during the monsoon, the real estate transactions are comparatively lesser and walk-ins greatly reduced between the months of July to August. The Mumbai real estate market gains momentum with the onset of the festive season starting with the Ganesh festival. "Housing sales tend to decrease during the monsoon season (July – Sept) compared to other quarters of the year.
