Introduction

The real estate sector is one of the most globally recognized sectors. In India, real estate is the second largest employer after agriculture and is slated to grow at 30 per cent over the next decade. The real estate sector comprises four sub sectors - housing, retail, hospitality, and commercial. The growth of this sector is well complemented by the growth of the corporate environment and the demand for office space as well as urban and semi-urban accommodations. The construction industry ranks third among the 14 major sectors in terms of direct, indirect and induced effects in all sectors of the economy.

CCI has been actively pursuing the cause of the Indian real estate sector through its strong Real Estate Committee. CCI has made several recommendations to the concerned ministries and other policy making authorities for healthy growth of real estate sector in India.

Recently, CCI proposed the following suggestions to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India to improve the flow of foreign capital into the real estate sector:
• Rationalization of the minimum area development and minimum capitalization norms for FDI in real estate.
• Relook at the 3-year lock in period for FDI.
• Allow FDI in greenfield and brown field projects.
• An exit clause for investors in exceptional cases.
• FDI should also be allowed to come in for affordable housing projects which will require a tweak in the existing FDI policy.

It is also expected that this sector will incur more non-resident Indian (NRI) investments in both the short term and the long term. Bengaluru is expected to be the most favoured property investment destination for NRIs, followed by Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Goa, Delhi and Dehradun. India's rank in the Global House Price Index has jumped 13* spots to reach the ninth position among 55 international markets, on the back of increasing prices in mainstream residential sector.

The Indian real estate market is expected to touch US$ 180 billion by 2020. Housing sector is expected to contribute around 11 per cent to India’s GDP by 2020. Retail, hospitality and commercial real estate are also growing significantly, providing the much-needed infrastructure for India's growing needs.

New housing launches across top seven cities in India increased 27 per cent year-on-year in January-March 2018. India is expected to witness an upward rise in the number of real estate deals in 2018, on the back of policy changes that have made the market more transparent.

Sectors such as IT and ITeS, retail, consulting and e-commerce have registered high demand for office space in recent times. Office space demand in the country increased 23 per cent year-on-year in January-March 2018 with office space absorption at 11.4 million square feet during the quarter. Private equity inflows in office and IT/ITES real estate have grown 150 per cent between 2014 and 2017 backed by a strong attraction towards office sector.

The Indian real estate sector has witnessed high growth in recent times with the rise in demand for office as well as residential spaces. Private equity investments in real estate are estimated to grow to US$ 100 billion by 2026 with tier 1 and 2 cities being the prime beneficiaries. Private equity investments in Indian real estate increased 15 per cent year-on-year in January-March 2018 to Rs 16,530 crore (US$ 2.56 billion). According to data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the construction development sector in India has received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows to the tune of US$ 24.67 billion in the period April 2000-December 2017.