In 2020, Too, Home Is Not Where Money Is

High costs, negligible price correction may increase the sector’s pain, but the rental market holds promise

- Meera Siva

Property has not been a very good asset class for investment, particularly for retail investors whose budget may be limited to ₹1 crore, even as larger private equity players enjoy more options. Also, many of the macro indicators such as economic growth and job additions have not shown any signs of revival.

At the start of 2019, we predicted three trends — the revival of rental interest, higher share for branded players, and clearer buyer perception on whether their property purchase is an investment or for own use, rather than a mix of the two. All these trends did pan out, in varying degrees though. We made no prediction of a revival in the market in terms of price and demand; it was certainly gloomy on these fronts.

For 2020, the market could see further implosion and the pain may only get worse. There may be no price correction as the cost economics — land, construction, capital and sales — may not come down substantially.

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