Budget 2024 Expectations: Here’s what real estate expects from Nirmala Sitharaman

financialexpress.com:

The real estate sector, buoyed by a remarkable year, has again started looking towards the upcoming Interim Budget 2024-2025 with a blend of hope and expectations. The previous year, as detailed in various reports, was a milestone for residential real estate, witnessing an upsurge in both new launches and home sales. This success story has set the stage for what many in the industry hope will be a transformative period of policy reform.

Highlighting the sector’s critical role in India’s overall economic framework, Kunal Rishi, COO, Paras Buildtech, said, “As we enter 2024, the real estate sector stands at the brink of further growth and innovation, with the forthcoming budget being a critical milestone. Contributing approximately 8% to the GDP and acting as a major employment generator, the sector’s health is crucial. The support of over 200 ancillary industries hinges on the robustness of real estate. Therefore, granting it industry status would be a pivotal step, promoting an environment for sustained growth. Measures such as single window clearance, tax breaks, and GST rationalization are essential to stimulate growth in our sector and have a ripple effect across the economy. We urge the government to champion these reforms, which are key to boosting demand, reducing costs, and elevating the real estate sector, thereby enriching our nation’s economic landscape.”

Statistics reveal a record-breaking momentum in housing sales across the top seven cities, scaling up to approximately 4.77 lakh units. Simultaneously, nearly 4.46 lakh newly-launched homes flooded the market, underscoring a thriving sector in the previous year. The disparity between government-defined parameters and practical market realities also comes to