The RICS Conference on Real Estate

The Indian Real Estate: Housing Conference, organised by RICS in Delhi on 3 August 2023, focused on critical issues related to the sector, including supply and demand, policy interventions and providing financing at reasonable rates to bring prices to a fair level.

In this session, Gulam Zia, MRICS, Senior Executive Director Research, Advisory, Infrastructure and Valuation, Knight Frank, discussed affordable housing, land prices and responding to the demand of younger home users. Participants included Sanjay Dutt, FRICS, MD & CEO, Tata Realty & Infrastructure Ltd and RICS Conference Chair - South Asia and Vipul Roongta, FRICS, Managing Director and CEO, HDFC Capital.

The need to balance the housing needs of workers and professionals with the rising cost of land. One option is the hub-and-spoke model, which would see affordable housing built further away, where land is relatively cheaper, and connected to the hubs with good quality infrastructure.

Every homebuyer expects the price to rise. If interest rates have risen to 9 percent and land prices are at an all-time high, how can the price of affordable housing hold up?

Affordable housing of sub Rs 75 lakh per unit in most parts of the country and sub Rs 1.5 crore in Mumbai is possible.

Real estate development is a state topic with regional variations. Working in one or more regions is a choice, not something that should be addressed through policy.

Many new formats, such as rental and professional housing, have emerged and more will emerge.

Demand for housing will grow as construction and production pick up. The problem is supply. The country must make homes for workers. For example, Tata Housing recently created 1.5 million square feet of housing for women in just six months, "a little Jamshedpur, of sorts" — an initiative worth replicating.