The COVID-19 pandemic brought a wide variety of changes with it into economies across the world. In India, the real estate and infrastructure sectors were severely impacted by the lockdown. However, as the sectors started to revive with the lockdown being eased. Several trends have emerged in both the sectors, mostly hinting towards a healthy revival. Here is how the sectors are expected to perform in 2021.
Residential
The recovery of the residential real estate sector is prominent, with a sharp rise in sales in the last two quarters of 2020. Much of the credit behind this recovery goes to the low financing rates, stamp duty benefits and other monetary advantages that gave the buyers a great opportunity. However, much of the recovery depends on the commercial scenario and employment opportunities. As of now, affordable and mid-segment properties are attracting most of the residential property buyers.
Commercial
The commercial sector has indeed displayed considerable signs of recovery. Although it was believed that the segment would suffer due to the growing adoption of WFH, commercial properties have attracted the highest percentage of investors in several major cities. As it is not always possible to get an optimal office environment at home, many of the companies are investing in sophisticated office spaces which meet the modern standards of convenience, infrastructure and health. Moreover, several companies that plan to continue their operations offline have been upgrading to larger offices where it would be possible to maintain the social distancing norms.
Storage
Warehouses and data centres are emerging as one of the popular asset classes among investors. With numerous businesses and other activities getting digitalised, increased data storage is the need of the hour. Warehouses are starting to gain traction as well, with the commercial activities getting back to normalcy.
Infrastructure
This sector has witnessed mixed trends during the pandemic. Transactions for transportation infrastructure such as toll roads were cancelled or delayed, while airports continued to be a popular investment asset class. In fact, the privatisation of the six airports in the previous year proved to be a grand success. With the vaccine being available, travelling is expected to rebound and would enable the privatisation of the next six airports. Power & renewable energy, however, have grown into popular options among the investors. While the first one recorded 10 transactions, the latter recorded 28.
The retail sector is expected to face delays in revival. As a result of the pandemic, online shopping became more popular than ever, leading to the fall in demand for retail spaces. Overall, the real estate sector is certainly recovering in a healthy way.
