The slew of measures announced by the government such as last-mile funding of affordable housing, rationalisation of the GST rates, liquidity support to HFCs and NBFCs were desirable steps to revive the sector. However, in the current situation, further stimulus will be required to revive the sentiments and invigorate demand, it added.
Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of
Knight Frank India, said, “There is already a severe shortage of liquidity due to the complete standstill. Even while the government and the RBI have provided some stimulus, further support may be required to help the
real estate sector and for the economy to stay afloat. Managing liquidity and sustaining through the length of this pandemic will be critical for economic survival in the post-pandemic era.”
The survey said 42 per cent of the respondents believe that the next six months would be one of the worst phases in terms of new supply additions across major office markets in the country. About 53 per cent of the stakeholders opined leasing activity would remain well below par in the next six months.
Stakeholders’ outlook with regard to future rental appreciation also dipped in Q12020, with 50 per cent of the stakeholders expecting rents to either remain stagnant or slide under the current uncertain economic scenario.
Niranjan Hiranandani, president of NAREDCO and MD, Hiranandani Group, said: “The recovery curve will depend on the fiscal stimulus rolled out by the government. Given the bleak market scenario, all stakeholders concerned are in cautious mode and fighting the war of life versus livelihood. However, a great amount of resilience and adaptability has been demonstrated by consumers and the developers,” he said.