Technology: The Game Changer for Real Estate in Indian Market

The world is changing really fast due to technology, impact of which can be seen in every aspect of our life: be it at home, our work or shopping habits. The digital spin has made lives more dependent on technology. There has been tremendous growth of social media, e-marketing, web communication, advanced software, mobile apps, and sophisticated IT systems. The impact of these advancements can also be seen on real estate market. The technological online advancement has brought monumental changes in the Indian real estate market. From the real estate startups to property portals and developers, all are investing heavily in online advanced technology to ensure seamless customer experience.

Right from designing to the construction, marketing and sale of the residential and commercial projects, the impact of technology can be seen everywhere. People now a day’s take help of real estate apps to search and buy property in India. Technology in real estate sector has helped people find more economical and reliable ways to gather information. Some other facts of technology on Indian real estate market include:

Virtual realty videos: With the reducing global boundaries, there is more demand for residential property in India by NRIs. As these investors are not able to visit the sites physically, many developers in India are providing them real like experience through virtual realty videos of the flats. Some other examples of technologies used by the builders to give an overview of the upcoming project without even making a sample flat are 360 degree, Live-in-Tours, Retina, and Advanced Machine Learning.

Analysis, graphs and charts: Gone are the days when home buyers were dependent on the brokers or builders to get an overview of the location and project. Property apps provide them thoroughly analyzed and carefully designed graphs, comparison charts and other insights with just a few clicks. Cloud computing and data-driven statistical analytics are playing a vital role in making these charts interactive for home buyers.

Technology and Indian Real Estate

Virtual sale: Now every person having a smart phone in his/her hand, so property sale is not limited to just the physical world. The investors now don’t hesitate in making transaction in the virtual world. Buyers also can explore various options virtually to short-list the properties. Builders are also taking help of real estate websites to reach out to the potential buyers with property details. Some brokers and developers are going a step further with customized and easy-to-use mobile applications for property search.

Quick and easy property selection: More than builders, the buyers and investors of real estate in India are getting benefited from the technological advancements. They now have an efficient flow of information at their fingertips. On the behalf of their preference of location, amenities, design and area, price they can choose a suitable project from thousands of residential projects listed on the real estate websites. This has also helped home buyers save their money, unnecessarily paid to the brokers.

Due-diligence: Easy and quick access to the up-to-date information, latest news, and important laws help investors and end-users make an informed decision. They now don’t rely on the information provided by the builders or brokers.

Since most of the real estate investors now use mobile phones to search right commercial and residential projects in India, it is the best time for the brokers, agents, and builders to leverage technology and gain maximum exposure. Further, the brokers need to keep a close eye on the emerging technologies and grab the opportunity at the right time to generate more revenue. The builder-broker community needs to realize that the investors are fast-adopting technology and they need to make up to this challenge in order to survive.

Impact of Budget on Real Estate Industry in Tricity

Real estate sector is one of the hardest-hit sector by the prolonged lockdown imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Real estate being the second-highest generator of employment and contributing more than 8 per cent to the economy, The real estate industry suffered immensely due to the lockdown leading to no construction activities, unavailability of labour and dip in demand and sale of commercial as well as residential properties. Further, to add to the sector’s woes, the extended lockdown led to indefinite migration of labour to their villages, less disposable income with buyers due to increased job losses and expenditure cuts by corporates.

The market has welcomed the host of announcements in Budget 2021 that are being seen as a measure to revive the economy. From health to infrastructure, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s third Budget speech tackled the wishlist of various industries and consumers that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Affordable housing benefits extended

The finance minister has announced the extension of the time limit to avail of benefits on purchase of affordable housing by one more year, to March 31, 2022. This means, the deduction benefit of Rs 1.5 lakhs under Section 80EEA will now be available for buyers who invest in an affordable housing project before March 2022. This provides relief for buyers who were seeking investment opportunities in a market where new launches have fallen, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and developers are focussing on clearing their existing stock. The government’s push towards Housing for All under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) will only revive the real estate sector, which has witnessed a slowdown due to large-scale policy changes such as demonetisation, GST and the RERA.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has extended the time period of taking loans to buy such houses by one year – i.e. from March 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022 – to avail additional tax benefits of Rs 1.5 lakh u/s 80EEA of the Income Tax Act.

Section 80EEA provides tax benefits up to Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid on loans taken for Residential House Property for affordable housing. The benefit is over and above the tax benefit of Rs 2 lakh available u/s 24(B) of the Income Tax Act on interest on Housing Loan on both self-occupied and rented properties.

Moreover, with the FM announcing the extension of tax holiday for affordable housing projects by one more year, there is likely to be more supply in the market, with new launches gaining pace once again. The FM has also allowed tax exemption for notified affordable rental housing projects, which could further boost the prospects of this sector.

“It is a pragmatic and forward-looking budget. The estimated, gradual reduction in the fiscal deficit from 9.5% to under 4.5% by 2024-25 will help boost consumption in the economy.

No changes in direct tax

While the government left the direct taxes unchanged, senior citizens of age 75 and above are now exempted from filing income tax returns, if their income source is solely pension and interest earned from their savings. . FM Sitharman proposed to make dividend payment to REIT/InvIT exempt from TDS.  Apart from this, the FM emphasised on reducing compliance and making the system faceless, to improve efficiency and accountability. Small tax payers, which means anyone with a taxable income of up to Rs 50 lakhs and disputed income of up to Rs 10 lakhs, can approach the dispute resolution committee which will be formed for the same. In addition to this, the FM announced that the pre-filled tax forms will now include details of investments made in financial securities.

Social security for construction workers

The finance minister, in her speech, also said that the social security benefits will now be extended to construction workers and minimum wages will apply to all categories. In addition to this, a portal will be launched that will collect the relevant information on building and construction workers, which will help the government to formulate health, housing, skill, insurance and food schemes, for migrant workers. At the same time, compliance burden on employers will be reduced, with single registration and licensing and online returns. The FM also said that women will be allowed to work in all categories and also in night-shifts, with adequate protection.

GST discount for developers and home buyers

With the dwindling demand for under-construction properties new project launches coming to a standstill following the Coronavirus pandemic, developers are seeking a Goods and Services Tax (GST) cut for a limited period of time, as they feel that this could help them to speed up construction and make the inventory more attractive to the home buyers.

 The present GST rate on under-construction properties is 5% minus the input tax credit benefit for premium homes (valued above Rs 45 lakhs) and 1% for affordable homes (valued under Rs 45 lakhs), points out Ankush Kaul, president, sales and marketing, Ambience Group. “A waiver on GST will reduce the overall burden on developers and make property prices competitive,” he elaborates.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday decided to keep key lending rates unchanged for fourth time in a row, in its February policy review meeting. While, it projected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at a rate of 10.5 per cent for the financial year 2021-22, on the back of recovery in economic activities.
The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC), headed by governor Shaktikanta Das, kept repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent, while maintaining accommodative stance . Consequently, the reverse repo rate will also continue to earn 3.35 per cent for banks.

.

Key Points Of  Budget:

Budget measuresImpactWho is impacted & how?
Affordable housing scheme extended till 31-March-2022Higher savingsFirst-time home buyer from low and middle-income households
Additional income-tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakhs for the year 2021-22Higher savingsFirst-time home buyers from low and middle-income households. Tax deduction of Rs 3.5 lakh p/a for one more year
Tax holiday period for real estate developers on affordable housing projects extended for one more year till 31-March-2022Higher savingsFirst-time home buyers from low and middle-income households. Prices of affordable homes are likely to go down further
Tax holiday for real estate developers engaged in projects which involve renting of homes at affordable ratesHigher savingsPeople from low and middle-income households, since expectedly rentals may be lower
Reduction in Basic Customs Duty on Steel and IronLower cost of inputsLower duty on iron and steel is expected to reduce cost for inputs/components used in construction. Hence, it is expected that developers will pass on the cost benefit by reducing home prices

CHB plans to cut property reserve prices by 10%

Stating that the economic scenario hasn’t changed since the 2019 auction, CEO said the cut was suggested by the CHB committee on reserve price

CHB plans to cut property reserve prices by 10%

A 10% price cut is on the cards for Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) properties slated to be auctioned in February.

CHB plans to auction residential and commercial properties, both leasehold and freehold, at 10% lower reserve prices than that in its last auction in December 2019.

Confirming the development, Yashpal Garg, chief executive officer (CEO), CHB, said: “The reserve price has been decreased keeping in mind the current real estate market and as the response to the 2019 auction was not on expected lines.”

Stating that the economic scenario hasn’t changed since the 2019 auction, Garg said the cut was suggested by the CHB committee on reserve price. “The final decision on the reduction will be taken by the UT adviser, who is also the CHB chairman,” he said.

In all, there are 119 residential properties on offer, of which 11 are leasehold and 108 are freehold. These properties are mainly located in Sectors 38 West, 39, 51, 61, 63, and Manimajra. All the 150 commercial properties on offer are leasehold, and are mainly in Sectors 51 and 61 besides Manimajra and Maloya.

All these are leftover properties, which either couldn’t get buyers in the previous auctions and schemes or have been resumed on account of non-payment of dues.

“The condition of such properties, which have remained vacant for a long time, is deteriorating. CHB is losing revenue simultaneously, and has to also spend considerable sums of money on their maintenance,” said a CHB official, wishing to remain anonymous.

Encroachment is also a concern, because of which CHB has formed a team dedicated to periodically checking all vacant properties, said the official.

Move to attract buyers

CHB’s last auction in December 2019 turned out to be a damp squib due to lack of buyer response to its 212 properties, the blame for which was pinned on high reserve prices.

The offerings included 64 residential units, of which nine were on leasehold and 55 on freehold. Most of these were located in Sector 63.

CHB also faced flak for the high property prices. The highest reserve price of ₹1.07 crore was fixed for a freehold three-bedroom apartment in Sector 63. In the leasehold segment, a high income group apartment in Sector 39 had a reserve price of ₹1.31 crore.

The reserve price of an economically weaker section apartment in Sector 51 was ₹30 lakh, and that of a one-bedroom apartment in Sector 63 was ₹54.80 lakh.

All the 48 commercial properties offered were on leasehold. Their price ranged from ₹50 lakh to ₹2 crore.

“Leasehold properties generally don’t attract buyers. This year, too, CHB doesn’t expect a great response to these. Even in the UT estate office auction in 2019, no commercial property could be sold, while all residential properties (which were on freehold) were auctioned at much higher bids than reserve prices,” the official said.

Zirakpur—why One Of The Best Places For Investment??

Zirakpur is a beautiful neighbouring city of Chandigarh. Zirakpur is witnessing the rapid growth in its
real estate market because of numerous factors. So, if you are planning to shift from any city or
investment. Looking for a lifestyle that matches up to your expectations, you can definitely point
towards Zirakpur, where you get capital appreciation as it is in developing stage like Gurgaon and
Noida.


1-Amazing Connectivity: Zirakpur has a great connectivity with the major nearby cities of Punjab,
Chandigarh(UT) and other states (Himachal Pradesh, Haryana). You can reach Shimla in 3 hours
while Delhi in just 4 hours. It feels really amazing for outsiders in terms of moving to a new location.


2-Logistic& Warehousing Hub: Zirakpur-Tepla- Rajpura Belt to become logistic hub in Punjab. As
Zirakpur is the intersecting point on Shimla-Delhi – Patiala highway,so government is planning to
have warehouse in the near future in Punjab.


3-Presence of International Airport: Chandigarh Airport is a custom airport which serves
the Union Territory Chandigarh, Chandigarh capital region including Panchkula, Mohali and the
Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and the southern districts of Himachal. The airport runway is located in the Union territory of Chandigarh while the international terminal is located on the south side of the runway in the village of Jhiurheri ,  Mohali, Punjab. The airport caters to eight domestic airlines (Indigo, Spice jet, Vistara, Air India & many more) and connecting Chandigarh to 2 International (Sharjah & Dubai ) and 17 domestic destinations. More International Flights to operate from the airport in coming months Ex: Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, British Airways. With International flights operating round the clock from Chandigarh airport will also bring more employment in Aviation/Cargo and ground staff sector.
Chandigarh International airport will now be the hub for passengers from Himachal Pradesh, J&K,
Punjab & Haryana. Passengers from these regions now don’t have to travel to Indira Gandhi
International Airport ‘New Delhi’ to board the international flights.

Instrumental landing system is getting installed so that flight can operate in low visibility from
Chandigarh Intl Airport

4- Accessibility: The areas surrounding airports possess excellent infrastructure facilities. It ensures
good connectivity to all parts of the city with well-developed roads, flyovers, expressways and
highways. Moreover, the transport facilities are available throughout 24×7 and offer several
employment opportunities. 


5- Employment opportunities : With the availability of excellent connectivity and
infrastructure, the locations nearby airport have a high demand in the realty sector. These
regions are also bound to emerge as a commercial destination. For instance, the airport at
SAHIBZADA AJIT SINGH NAGAR has led to the fast development of several commercial hubs and industrial parks such as Infosys.,HDFC Corporate office etc. This development improves the employment opportunities in several fields. Several schools, colleges, restaurants, entertainment zones and many more elements of social infrastructure facilities have been introduced. Close Proximity to Infosys, Ashoka university , Amity University & 1700 Acres IT- CITY. All these developments assure a good quality of life!


6- Profitable returns : Airports are a major attraction for commercial and retail sectors. The
infrastructure initiatives in these regions transform itself into high growth zones. The demand
for properties, both for commercial and residential purposes, are high and have more values.
If you invest in properties near an airport, it also promises a good return in future and present.


7- Master Plan Zirakpur : Municipal council has announced that Zirakpur will cut into 16 sectors.
The map of each sector with the address of every house will also be available on Google. Now
GMADA further acquire 5000acre to expand aerocity.


8- Healthy Environment: While planning to get a house for our family, it is very important to
choose a place which is pollution free and has healthy surroundings. Zirakpur is a place fulfilling all
these requirements. As its free zone from industries and Low Density Area i.e low rise buildings are
permitted (example:-stilled+3 with lifts). You can get facilities like parks for children (Leisure Valley
Park coming in 100 Acres) open areas, walking paths and more.

This area has now fast emerging as preferred destinations not only for the IT Industry, but also for
quality housing and urban infrastructure related investments. This is because of better accessibility
and declared public priority to provide world-class civic amenities. It has become an important
commercial and institutional hub, which houses regional offices of companies and institutions
catering to several States. It has also become an important investment destination for Indian and
multinational Companies.

GMADA hands over land to NHAI, Zirakpur ring road project back on track

Confirming this, a senior National Highways Authority of India official has said the land had been transferred and work would start in a month

Delayed for nearly seven years, the Zirakpur ring road project is likely to take off soon as the Greater Mohali area Development Authority (GMADA) recently transferred around 100 acres of land it has acquired to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to start construction.

The 200-foot-wide and six-laned road will decongest Zirakpur by providing an alternative route to Shimla-bound traffic from Ambala.

The NHAI will build the 8 km road from McDonald’s on the Ambala-Zirakpur highway, passing through Peer Muchalla, Sanoli, Gazipur, Nagla, all Mohali villages, to join the Sector 20/21 dividing road in Panchkula.

A senior NHAI official who spoke on condition of anonymity as he’s not authorised to speak to the media, said: “We held a meeting with senior GMADA officials and requested them to hand over the land (for the project).”

Confirming this, another senior official with the highways authority said the land had been transferred and work would start in a month.

“We are hopeful of completing the project soon,” he said

GMADA superintending engineer Davinder Singh, too, said, “We have handed over around 100 acres of land to NHAI and they will begin work soon.”

Work halted in 2014

Work on the route, which started in 2013, came to a halt in February 2014 when some of the landowners went to court seeking higher compensation.

With its completion, Shimla-bound traffic can take this road, bypass the bottleneck at Zirakpur, and join the Shimla highway at the Panchkula end. Similarly, Ambala or Delhi bound traffic from Shimla can avoid Zirakpur.

The road will also open an alternative route from Panchkula to the Chandigarh International Airport in Mohali, but it will be much longer than the existing route via Industrial Area and the Zirakpur-Chandigarh road through Aerocity and IT City in Mohali. However, Chandigarh traffic will then be given a miss.

No traffic congestion

The project will also help prevent around 1.5 lakh vehicles from Punjab and Haryana from entering Chandigarh daily, something that has also been proposed in the city’s Master Plan for better traffic management.

The road project had been approved in 2017 by the then Union home minister Rajnath Singh during a meeting of the Northern Zonal Council in Chandigarh in August. The project holds more significance in the wake of Rajnath Singh putting the brakes on the much touted Metro project for Chandigarh in July 2017, and asking the UT administration to look for alternative models of transport, as a metro was not viable in Chandigarh.

According to the proposal, the road will be connected to the Shimla-Kalka highway, Pinjore, Baddi, Yamanunagar and Majri Chowk in Panchkula.

According to the Master Plan committee, traffic between Mullanpur and Panchkula, and that from Kansal, Zirakpur and Panchkula not headed for Chandigarh could be diverted and significantly reduce congestion on the arterial roads in the city’s Madhya Marg and Dakshin Marg.