Among the major changes, 2020 will see new business segments of real estate take center-stage. So, data centres, industrial parks and Logistics, co-working spaces will be the rising stars of commercial real estate while shared accommodation and rental homes should grow in terms of overall numbers.
The new age home buyer will largely be ‘Millennial’; the home size will be boutique but the township will have all common amenities and facilities that define lifestyle-plus living. The interiors will largely be minimalist; with little focus on opulence for this segment of home buyers, which will largely be aspirational.
The other end of the spectrum, luxury housing segment for HNI home buyers, through 2020, should continue to offer size and opulence in premium pin code locations to discerning home seekers. Rental housing will be the surprise, with large numbers opting for the same in 2020, once the revised rental law is implemented.
Across India, real estate expects sales to increase through 2020 and beyond. Real estate developers have been responsive to buyer sentiment through 2019, and in 2020, we should see positive results as a natural consequence. The home buyer, through 2019, has had good options to select from, at price points which have been value for money - and, this in a scenario where transparency and accountability are defining the new regulatory era post RERA. The new regulatory regime has defined the ‘positive’ aspect of 2019.
A year when fence sitters started evaluating homes and entering into serious negotiations - and, some sales logged too. As we move into the New Year, we should see the build-up through 2019 translate into more sales in 2020. Housing is a basic need, and the delayed off-take caused by the economic reforms has been building up over the past couple of years, and this will gradually come into the market. How quickly this happens will depend upon overall economic scenario, as buyer sentiment will essentially drive demand.
Moving into 2020, Indian real estate is in an environment where regulatory norms have brought in transparency in the transaction, accountability on part of the developer as also safe and secure buying process. The buyer sentiment, which is gradually improving, should be even better in the New Year.
In 2020, we should see new construction technology speed things up, so time taken from start to handing over possession will reduce. The biggest change we should witness in 2020 would be the gradual reduction of what today is a mandatory ‘human interface’. The process of selecting and buying homes will evolve - it will be automated and powered by AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things). Well, maybe not entirely in 2020, but we will be on course to achieve the same in the near future!
Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani is a ‘thought leader’ in Indian real estate. MD and Co-founder, Hiranandani Group
