Amid curfews in several cities, the sector has taken care to ensure business is not hit due to reverse migration in the cities.
New Delhi: With curfew being announced in several metropolitan cities, the real estate sector has taken special care to ensure that business is not impacted because of the reverse migration in these cities. In March 2020, when the Covid-induced lockdown was announced by the Central government, the real estate and infrastructure sectors were one of the worst affected sectors due to the reverse migration.
Talking about the impact on businesses due to curfew in the metropolitan cities, Prashin Jhobalia, Vice President, Marketing Strategy, House of Hiranandani, told The Sunday Guardian, “Unlike the first wave, the second wave has not impacted much as of now. During the first wave, the real estate sector was not prepared as they had no idea what the consequences would be, and how bad it would hit the economy. However, this time the companies are ready and have found out a few solutions to drive businesses in existing circumstances.” He further said, “Today, large real estate companies are making facilities for home buyers to access properties through digital medium. In Mumbai, where there is a lockdown and businesses are shut, realtors are providing the opportunity to access the properties virtually.”
Talking about the reverse migration happening in cities like Delhi and Mumbai, India’s two biggest cities, Jhobalia told The Sunday Guardian, “While the second wave of Covid-19 is severely affecting certain states, not all migrants are considering to return to their home states.” He further added, “Several real estate companies are conducting regular health check-ups of the labourers working at the project sites. In cities like Bengaluru and Chennai, companies have been vaccinating labourers working at the sites.”
Maintaining that reduction in stamp duty has helped the real estate in states like Maharashtra, he said, “The impact of the stamp duty cut was clearly visible in Maharashtra, as sales have been impressive after the stamp duty cut was enforced. The momentum in sales continues in our target cities, i.e Bengaluru and Chennai, with home buyers showing strong preferences for ready-to-move-in properties during this period.”
Jhobalia said, “The real estate sector has picked up pace since October 2020 and the last quarter of FY 2020-21 was extremely good, irrespective of the stamp duty cut. April 2021 too began with a good start where we saw buyers coming forward for their property purchases.”