Venkatesh Gopalkrishnan, CEO, Shapoorji Pallonji
“The real estate sector’s business cycle has been in a flux for the past few years. The real estate market faced many challenges during COVID-19, but the sector bounced back due to resilient market fundamentals. In 2022, the sector experienced an upward trend due to factors like homeownership, the desire for bigger homes, lower interest rates, and attractive pricing; all these resulted in the market to pick up. The last six to eight months have seen a tangible return to pre-pandemic conditions as foreign investments and NRI homebuyers have taken centre stage. Some metro cities witnessed an increase in real-estate prices; along with this, even tier II and III cities gained momentum for demand for housing. The government also helped the real estate sector by launching several initiatives. Together, these factors drove the real estate sector in 2022.
We feel that 2023 will pivot towards many opportunities. The sector will continue to have strong and positive momentum. As per the ratings of agencies, India’s growth is expected to be between 8% – 9%, and such a favourable economic outlook will contribute to the real estate market’s boost.
We still see the desire to own a home remaining strong in the coming year. The demand for luxury homes will continue to be the driver for the real estate sector in 2023. Plotted developments, premium and uber luxury homes are likely to strengthen their market hold. Even the shift in focus to other smaller cities where infrastructure development is taking place will see a lot of traction from the industry and from investors at large. The preference of young home buyers is driving a shift toward aspirational homes, and they will continue to dominate the property market. Overall, we feel the year 2023 will be a good time for home buyers or investors who are keen to invest in property on a long-term horizon and are not looking for immediate, short-term, returns.
