Investment revival, reports Maroo of Omkar

2017 has ended on a high note for the Indian real estate sector with regulatory reforms renewing Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) confidence in the Indian property market.
“Mid-2017 onwards, we are experiencing an investment revival amongst NRIs” says Rahul Maroo, Senior Vice President and Head International Sales, Omkar Realtors.
This boost in NRI interest can be attributed to various economic and realty regulatory reforms implemented by the Indian government beginning last quarter of 2016 and lasting through 2017.
The introduction of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), Goods and Services Tax (GST), the demonetisation and Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act have helped bridge the trust deficit between NRIs/institutional investors and India’s private realty players.
Traditionally, key NRI communities spanning Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America preferred investing in India owing to long-term fundamentals such as emotional connect, safeguarding retirement plans, higher Return on Investment, rental income and depreciation in the rupee’s value.
However, the lack of regulatory mechanisms to safeguard against misleading marketing and ensuring adherence to delivery timelines deterred investor interest.
Today, Indian industry experts and the widespread NRI factions believe that RERA has been pivotal in addressing this trust block.
Commenting on RERA boosting NRI investor confidence, Maroo said, “Mid-2017 onwards, we are experiencing an investment revival amongst NRI’s from the migrating faction as well the sizeable permanent population looking at India for investment. In two low-ticket offerings in Mumbai-based developments, we have added 300 customers this year from GCC, Singapore and Hong Kong markets.”
Mumbai based Omkar Realtors & Developers has recently launched their RERA compliant project – “Lawns & Beyond”.
The developer offers in boutique and luxury housing with 1/2/3-bhk units priced from Rs.83lakh to 1.57crore (355 sq.ft -710 sq.ft carpet area).
The project located on the Western-Express-Highway of Andheri-Jogeshwari east corridor offers a record 30 plus amenities with an inventory of 1,200 plus apartments for Phase 1 launch spanning 5-acres.
The 65-acre project is planned to shape into Omkar International District (OID), a mixed-development, evolving into a major landmark for Mumbai.
According to Ashutosh Limaye, National Director – Research of IPC-JLL, “NRIs consider four factors when investing in Indian property — minimum initial investment, high rental potential, developers with strong delivery record and RERA compliance.
“While leading brands like Omkar Realtors have received overwhelming response from NRIs, industry experts opine that the onus lies on private developers to create reform awareness amongst their audiences in 2018,” he stressed. fii-news.com