News: Housing demand structural, here to stay: Deepak Parekh -22-04-2021
Housing demand structural, here to stay: Deepak Parekh
Prop tech companies can play a big role in all major global economies, says the HDFC chairman
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd Chairman Deepak Parekh on Thursday said the demand for housing is not pent-up demand but is structural demand and is here to stay.
“In my 44 years of working in the housing sector, I have to say that the strong demand that one has seen for housing in the recent period has certainly surprised on the upside,” he said at the One World One Realty Global Proptech Summit 2021.
The growth in home loans has been aided by low interest rates, softer or stable property prices and continued fiscal benefits on home loans, he further said.
“Technology has enabled developers to virtually showcase their properties and home loan providers, too, have leveraged their digital platforms to continue to serve new and existing customers,” he said.
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According to Parekh, demand for housing is a combination of first time homebuyers, customers moving up the property ladder by shifting to larger homes; acquiring a second home in another location; and the current work from home situation in which proximity to the workplace is perhaps less compelling.
He also noted that the government’s ‘Housing for All’ programme has given a boost to the sector.
Under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana, as at March 31, 2021, an estimated 1.13 crore homes have been sanctioned, Parekh said. “This has been a game-changer for the housing sector as the ultimate objective is building a more inclusive and property owning democracy,” he said.
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Meanwhile, noting that infrastructure creation is one way to ensure a sustained recovery, without spiralling inflation, Parekh said that construction and real estate development is going to play a key role in all major global economies.
“And now more than ever before, the role of technology and innovation becomes extremely important,”he said, while pointing out that the construction industry is one of the least digitalised sectors in the world.
Stressing the need for digital infrastructure for the real estate sector, he said prop tech companies can play a big role in accelerating the government’s smart city mission as well as help local level bodies and municipalities in terms of facilitating online approvals of building permits.
