'At Least 6-months Delay in Housing Projects Due to Reverse Migration of Construction Workers': JLL
The reverse migration is having an adverse impact on the under-construction real estate projects in the top-7 cities of India says Ramesh Nair, CEO & Country Head, JLL India in an interaction with BW Businessworld. He also says that the time may just be right for willing customers to invest in real estate and to buy their dream homes as the discounts and low-interest rates may not be available for a long time.
"We believe, reverse migration would lead to a delay of at least 6 months in terms of project completion," says Nair. While he hails the schemes devised by the central government including additional allocation of Rs 40,000 crore under MGNREGA for FY21 and the ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan’ with an outlay of INR 50,000 crore for migrant workers who returned to their home states, the flip-side, says Nair, would be the delays in the return of these migrant workers.
"Migrant workers would take advantage of the schemes and would like to stay with their families in native places at a time which is very uncertain in terms of control or spread of the virus," says Nair.
Right Time To Buy Home?
With a slew of fiscal stimulus including lowering of interest rates on loans etc., is the time right for buying your own home? Nair says one cannot use the cookie-cutter model here. Every city has its own ecosystem, which includes the socio-economic background of the people, he says.
"Cities, which have a higher number of workforce employed in the IT / ITES / BFSI sectors, with fewer chances of salary cuts or job losses, will have a more positive outlook towards home buying," he says. "I believe this is the best time to invest in a property. Look at the home loan interest rates; they are at an all-time low, added to that, developers are offering some very flexible payment plans that will help them with their cash flows. Developers are also, today, offering discounts, options for staggered payments, higher flexibility in down payment and so on," says Nair.
"A smart customer or an end-user must take that decision to buy today since there exists a very positive and synergetic ecosystem because of lower rates, discounts and flexibility of down payment," he adds.
Can more discounts on ready-to-move in homes be expected? Should one wait a bit longer?
"This largely depends on the city. In the price point of between Rs 3,000 and Rs 6,000 per sq. ft., there is no room for discount or price cuts," says Nair. "One must understand that developers are extending discounts to cut losses and keep the cash flows going. Across markets, the room to slash prices is very limited," he says.
Nair says as the business revives and there are more 'green shoot', discounts will reduce. So depending on one’s job situation, location, and paying capacity, the time may just be right to buy your dream home.
JLL has also announced a partnership with RoofandFloor, a technology driven online marketplace for home-buyers in India. Through this association both firms aim at creating a smooth journey for home-buyers as they together support project discovery, shortlisting, site visits, negotiations and bookings. The platform showcases properties across 24 cities in India and supports buying, selling and resale. Home-buyers can now shortlist properties on RoofandFloor’s portal and be rest assured that JLL, the country’s largest real estate consultancy firm would support them through the home-buying journey.
Siva Krishnan, Managing Director, Residential Services, India, JLL, says, “We are delighted to join hands with RoofandFloor to work together and help clients navigate the home buying journey. This initiative brings together JLL’s expertise in residential real estate and RoofandFloors well-established online marketplace. It also bridges the gap between top developers and home-buyers with the support of JLL’s experienced advisors.”
“The partnership makes the entire journey seamless, as it should be, by serving homebuyers across the entire spectrum,” stated Thejaswi Udupa, CTO, RoofandFloor.
