THE SPECIAL SESSION AT 14TH REALTY+ CONCLAVE & EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2022 – NORTH WAS THE CONVERSATION MODERATED BY ANSHUMAN MAGAZINE - CHAIRMAN & CEO - INDIA, SOUTH-EAST ASIA, MIDDLE EAST, & AFRICA, CBRE WITH SNEHDEEP AGGARWAL - FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN BHARTIYA GROUP AND VIPUL ROONGTA - MD & CEO, HDFC CAPITAL ADVISORS LIMITED. HERE ARE THE EXCERPTS.
Anshuman Magazine began the conversation with interesting observation of people now wanting to live in areas where they can enjoy the outdoors as well. “In my recent interaction with Indians living in Singapore, I was told that it is a walkable city that adds to the charm and convenience of living. In India, a few developers are creating pedestrian friendly developments and we need more of that especially in metro cities.”
Snehadeep Aggarwal agreed, “Our cities, though have a huge potential have failed to offer quality living to its citizens.” Giving an example of his marquee project the Bhartiya City in Bengaluru he said, “The idea started from my son’s foray into the real estate vertical for which he bought 10 acres land. We then decided to buy 100 acres and build a full-fledged mixed use development including residential, commercial, retail and hospitality. My intention was to do something meaningful and create a development that will be an example of a holistic living.”
Vipul Roongta added, “If you look at any country, the developers there have access to long-term, low-cost financing, making large city projects viable. In India too, going forward there will be a lot of liquidity that is going to come in for the right set of people whether its equity or debt markets. I don’t think the cost of money is the factor but the passion for business is important that sees you through the finance cycle.”
Anshuman Magazine further expressed that like China where tier II cities have grown even bigger than the tier I cities, India too is witnessing a similar movement with housing and infrastructure development and driven by commercial establishments increasing their footprint in smaller cities.”
Snehdeep Aggarwal concurred, “The demand and potential are 10 times more in Tier 2 cities than in the metropolitan cities. What is happening in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, is that the market is controlled by unorganized sector. The developers have to rethink how they have to develop real estate and plan development in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The catch will be not to emulate western master plans but develop region specific projects to cater to the local communities.”
Vipul Roongta shared, “I think the best part of the design is simplicity. The power to simplifying things is that it can be replicated 100 times over. The demand and entrepreneurship exists in the ecosystem, we need tech intervention to develop affordable housing on scale. At HDFC Capital we are giving a direction and credibility to the start-ups by investing in them. We believe that technology will play a vital role in the creation of efficiencies within the real estate processes. The H@ART (HDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology) Program aims to foster collaborations between technology companies and the real estate sector.”
THE WORDLY MATTERS & IMPLICATIONS
The global economic uncertainty coupled with strong outlook of Indian economy makes the investments lucrative in Indian real estate. Anshuman Magazine was of the view that looking at all the global indicators including geopolitical tensions as well as depreciating value of Indian rupee, the Indian real estate market has done well. Sales are up in the residential, and offices have started to do well. Indian developers are creating residential and commercial projects matching global standards and lifestyles to attract NRIs and foreign investors.”
Snehdeep Aggarwal shared similar sentiments, “The reality is that India has been able to manage its economy, post-pandemic better than others. Banks have never been more profitable than they are now and they have never been more capitalised. We have escaped the global doom and we managed economy well in the last three years, which we hope will continue the same way.
Among South East Asian countries, India was last in the line for European or American investors, but today India is on the frontline and that is the reality for all global investors. In my fashion business every global brand is moving, sourcing from China to elsewhere. India is the first option. The coach which is a six billion company had only one percent sourcing from India and now have committed 15% sourcing to India which means millions of new jobs. All these jobs are going to create employment and the economy is going to grow.
Vipul Roongta shared his perspective, “-Almost two-thirds of Indian population is below 35. The average age of home-buyer in India is 37 and I think that means many people are going to start owning homes. Demand side I don’t see any challenge. The problem is whether I can supply profitably. The biggest problem at the macro level is the price of crude because we still import the crude fuel and that’s driving the cost of all raw materials. Most of the euphoria is on the demand side but there are big risk factors at the supply side that need to be addressed.”
The eminent leaders of the Indian realty were unanimous in their view that India till now has escaped recession but one needs to keep a cautious approach. “India is in a very good position and the downtrend in is going to help India a lot. In the next 20-25 years India is going to grow leaps and bounds more so because of the huge demographic dividend that India can tap into for consumption as well as workforce.
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