#Budget2019 – Affordable Housing Gains Amidst High Electoral Pitch

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants:

Direct and indirect positives for the real estate sector:

· Boost to Affordable Homes
· Tax exemption for developers by 1 more year
· Decisive push to the second home market
· Unsold Inventory Benefits
· Boost to Investors
· Rollover of capital gains tax on the sale of houses increased to 2 homes
· Infra push will increase the demand for logistics and warehousing

Downsides:

· No major tax relief to the ‘real’ middle-class.
· No announcements on clearing the NBFC deadlock
· Industry status continues to elude the real estate sector
· Promises of reduction on GST burden on homebuyers, but no announcement of actual relief
· No real push to decrease job creation deficit – real estate sector is one of the largest creators of jobs
· No stress-asset fund to bail out distressed homebuyers