S India is engine of realty growth

The South Indian real estate market is poised for further growth as more businesses, especially IT/ITeS industries, are expected to spring up in the region.


Real estate companies participating in the South India Real Estate Conference (SIREC) 2012 in Bangalore on the theme ‘Reorienting real estate through smart concepts and technologies’, were unanimous that South India holds plenty of scope for real estate and urban development, though certain issues need to be resolved.

The one-day conference was organised on Friday by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) in association with Ernst & Young.
Ficci Real Estate Committee Chairman and Hiranandani Constructions Managing Director Niranjan Hiranandani said though there is immense scope for development of real estate in the region, there is a clear lack of leadership.

Similar thoughts were echoed by Mantri Developers Chairman and Managing Director Sushil Mantri, who said, “Though South India is a steady market for real estate, developers must focus on execution of projects.” He added that delays in delivery made a difference to the real user and would negatively affect the reputation of the developer.

Another important point delved into by the gathering was the impact of urbanisation on the fortunes of the real estate industry. South India presently constitutes about one-fifth of the country’s population, and the number is growing, along with a proportionally higher level of GDP. Migration of people from rural to urban areas is on the rise.

“Today, urbanisation is taking place at a rapid pace... South India has shown noticeable progress in various fields, due to which mobility has increased,” Karnataka Secretary (Housing) Lakshmi Narayana M said. He noted that there are 11 cities in the South and the number is expected to cross 15 in the next two or three years.
Besides, the southern cities have competitive land prices, with Bangalore’s land being priced at around Rs 4,000 per sqft. With more jobs and increasing urbanisation, real estate is seen as the second highest employment generating sector, though it still remains largely unorganised.

Acknowledging that the sector is plagued by labour shortages, Mantri felt that technology and skilled manpower would help mitigate labour shortage and improve quality of real estate products.

Source: www.deccanherald.com