Real estate sector witnesses slowdown again due to Covid crisis

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The real estate sector, which witnessed gradual recovery after total halt in the first wave of Covid-19 and resultant lockdowns last year, is again witnessing a slowdown in the current Covid crisis across the country.<br />
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Sales and construction in the sector have come to a near halt. Developers and experts have sought relief amid these tough times including additional liquidity support.<br />
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Axis Ecorp CEO & Director Aditya Kushwaha said: "Just when recovery was in sight, the second wave has derailed the growth momentum for the real estate industry."<br />
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He suggested that proactive measures that can cushion the impact on the industry such as loan restructuring, interest moratorium, and additional liquidity support should be considered by the RBI.<br />
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According to Kushwaha, real estate companies are facing challenges to give timely deliveries of their ongoing projects and on top of it, new launches have been put on hold.<br />
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"To enable the industry to recover faster from the impact of this wave, the RBI will have to step in and offer some relief measures," he said.<br />
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AMs Project Consultants Director Vinit Dungarwal observed that the second wave of the pandemic has had a widespread impact on all businesses.<br />
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Describing the announcements made by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Covid relief measures for small businesses, individuals and MSMEs is a welcome move, he said: "The resurgence of the pandemic and resultant concerns of its impact on the economy and businesses demands a resilient approach and we are hopeful that appropriate measures will be taken to address the needs of the real estate sector."<br />
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Savills India's MD, Residential Services, Shveta Jain, however, was of the view that it is too early to assess the outcome of the ongoing second wave of the pandemic.<br />
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"The residential market was seeing an upswing post opening of the first lockdown last year. We expect the same momentum to continue once the current situation stabilises."<br />
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At the moment, given the severity of the ongoing heath crisis and non-mobility due to the lockdown, businesses are on a standstill and transactions are likely to remain low for at least next few months, Jain said. "As the vaccination drive catches up, we expect the end-user demand to return similar to what we saw post the first wave of the pandemic."<br />
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She said that measures such as reduction in stamp duty and circle rates should again be introduced by the government to boost housing demand during the pandemic.</p>