MAINTAINING AFFORDABILITY

Homes in the present situation, has become a buzzword in Indian real estate sector. Almost all developers are talking about getting into this segment, which implies that up houses for the masses. Although the developers is to reintroduce a-room apartments, and in the current falling interest rate scenario, buyers are making a comeback, the real problems of affordable housing remains to be resolved. In the recently held The Economic Times Realty Convention 2009, panelists from across the sector to discuss any concerns that come in the way of affordable housing.

Provides a broad perspective on the whole concept of affordable housing, Amit Mookim KPMG, explained: "When we look at the full spectrum of affordable housing, which is about five stakeholders. There are government and public agencies, developers, who are key to make this happens, lenders that finance consumers and consumers who have very specific needs. He / she has specific choices about where you live, what amenities he or she wants, what kind of infrastructure, health, sanitation, education, etc. are provided there. Fifth, not the least important is the investor who finances a part of these activities. For this model to succeed all these factors must be taken care of and it should be a win-win situation for everyone. "To this Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director, CBRE India, added:" What is affordable in Mumbai can be a luxury in Hyderabad. The ticket size is the best criteria and must always remember. " Talking about the viability of affordable housing projects, Rajiv Talwar, Executive Director, DLF Ltd, shared, "Happiness lies in the bottom of the pyramid, there will be no happiness if there is no profit. A project is not sustainable if it does not give a returns. What the government trying to look for are smaller returns through greater volume. If it is large so the small profit will make it good again. There is a need to strengthen the borrower and the milestones that must be sought and achieved is to ensure that the EMI of the borrower is less than the rent paid for comparable housing. Even as public-private partner, the main role of government is to keep land prices in check. It should aim at rejuvenating the supply side of the earth. Industries can be moved to the edge so soil can be used for residential purposes. We went to the industrial development of the first five decades after becoming independent, but now there is a need to adopt residential model. "To this PK Mohanty, Joint Secretary-JNNURM Ministry of Urban Development & poverty reduction program agreed Need "has arisen to add people to public-private partnership. As such, the people for whom this is happening. While the Government agrees that there should be a convincing business plan. That is why we come up developer-friendly policies. "

Other than bringing the cost down the delivery option that is critical in affordable housing. At that Navin M Raheja, Managing Director, Raheja Developers Ltd, shared, "Implementation and facilitation policies are mandatory. There is a need for a separate single window clearance system to facilitate the entire process in addition to the developer. Also a model code to be written for this sector . Adding to this, Talwar stressed, "Time taken for approval is too long. We do not want the government to deregulate approvals or make them more transparent, but the idea is to save time. By saving time we can get land up in any home or project with a possible buyer for a cheaper rate. no sense to pay a higher price for the permits, but the time has a greater significance when it comes to costs. "addressed the issue of cost control in this sector Mookim said: "One of the main challenges of actually meeting the demand for cheap houses is cost control. This will be a function of how developers institutionalize this process, how they think big, beyond a 100 or 200 times the actual one 1000 or 2000 apartments, which they leverage global best practices from countries where many of these large projects have taken place, how they think about real estate and include infrastructure as an important element; How to use this business model and achieve economies of scale to save spending. "

Panelists cited the efficiency, delivery by suppliers, infrastructure and reform of the paradigm of planning that some of the challenges facing the sector. The positive from the viewpoint of the panelists was; tremendous emphasis on affordable housing, raising and supply of land in outlying areas, and focus on large quantities.

Sanjay Verma, Executive Managing Director - South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield concluded, "There is a great need to invest time and energy to enhance the efficiency of production, and also the developers should look for alternative building technologies. Also a hand-shake strategy between developers and government is essential. "