Around 90 per cent of real estate developers feel that the second wave of the COVID-19 has been more "devastating" on their business than the first one, as new sales and collections have fallen drastically since April this year, as per a survey by realtors' body Credai.
Most of the developers, about 95 per cent, fear project delays because of the localised lockdowns across states.
The survey is important as the realty sector is pursuing with the states and the Centre a slew of sops for the revival.
According to the survey, labour shortage, financial constraints, approval delays, increased construction costs, and weakening customer demand are key challenges.
Credai, President, Harsh Vardhan Patodia said there has been a slowdown in housing demand due to a decrease in enquiries and site visits. 95 per cent of builders pointed out that customers have postponed their purchase decisions due to the second wave.
‘’A staggering 98 per cent of developers are facing reduced customer enquiries and 42 per cent experiencing a 75 per cent decline in customer enquiries. On the supply side, the survey found out that over 95 per cent of developers expect inevitable project delays if no urgent relief measures are injected into the sector by the government and Reserve Bank of India,’’ he noted.
To bail out the sector, Credai has sought liquidity infusion, one-time restructuring of loans, across the board 6 months extension of completion date by RERA, stamp duty reduction or waiver and moratorium extension on principal and interest for 6 months.
