Real Estate Asia Pacific Report 2018: India still has a long way to go for making it to the top 10

According to the Real Estate Asia Pacific Report 2018, foreign investors might be giving India’s investment policies for the real estate market a thumbs-up. However, it is believed that Indian cities still have a long way to travel for becoming A-listers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Only three Indian cities found place in the top 20 real estate markets in the region from the stand point of investments, as analyzed by PWC and the Urban Land Institute. These cities are: Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. However, none of them could make it to the top 10. In the top 20 list of the Asia Pacific region, Mumbai ranks 12^th, while Bengaluru and New Delhi rank 15^th and 20^th respectively.

Experts say that a strong real estate rental market, especially in the residential space, could prove to be a strong investment hook.

Mumbai has scored high on development parameters that are used to measure investment worthiness. The financial capital’s ranking is not only driven by the positive fallout of the rally in the capital markets, but also by the rising demands for properties that can house co-working arrangement, manufacturing facilities and a rapidly growing servicing sector.

Bengaluru, meanwhile, continues to attract foreign companies that are looking to set up a base of operations in the country, especially in the technology and retail.

New Delhi, on the other hand, seems to be in the list largely due to its ‘National Capital’ status.  As an investment destination, it has lost some of its appeal due to the delayed projects, the rising demands for offices and the downfall in the traditional residential markets.

Some of these problems have resulted in the Indian cities losing out to cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City, Shenzhen and Tokyo.

Experts claim that the recent changes in the Indian policies can be one of the reasons for stagnant growth of Indian real estate market. They believe that the country will take time to absorb some major policy changes like, RERA or GST.