In 2017, the Indian Real Estate sector has seen a substantial alteration with the implementation of reforms such as GST and RERA. This year look promising for good supply of houses across major Indian markets, and the growth prospects look brighter than ever. The Act was formulated to streamline and standardize the unorganized real estate structure in India.

Upgrading in the regulatory framework has built up an attractive destination for both global and Indian investors. So far, Indian real estate has attracted USD 32 billion in private equity and due to transparency, NRIs find India’s real estate market more trustworthy.

Developers will re-structure their business models, developers launched many projects and there was no assurance of completion of the projects. Now, through the RERA act, a time limit has been set for the projects to be completed. It will force developers to upgrade their business model. The developers will require bringing more clarity as well as liability in their system, and do a lot to upsurge consumer confidence.

Also, the Goods and service tax (GST) as well as the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) amendment act; will have a major impact on, how developers run their business. Developers should bring changes in their business models to maintain in the market.

The REITs will have a crucial and long-term impact on developers, with the choice of either risking or ‘corporatizing’ taking over, with their larger counterparts.

Here are the trends that are expected to reshape and redefine the sector:

1. Real estate developers are changing their business plans- Recent implementation of reforms such as the Benami Property Act, RERA, and GST have enforced a greater level of accountability, transparency, and quality-on-time on the part of real estate developers. Projects are therefore much more trustworthy and meet the set standards.

2. Workspaces are evolving into ‘co-working’ spaces- With the fast-evolving co-working space culture in India, regular office spaces will give way to more hybrid co-working spaces. Corporates and co-working operators will now work one behind the other, which in turn will benefit the real estate economy and also increase productivity, cost-efficiency and employee retention.

3. FDI into real estate will increase further- The launch of Real Estate Investment Trusts in 2017 enhanced transparency in real estate transactions, the real estate sector will draw even more worldwide investors than before.

4. Affordable housing- There is a target of building one crore new houses in rural India by 2019. The Housing for All scheme has been fixed for 2022, and affording housing in India is receiving the much-needed infrastructural attention in order to meet the target set.

5. REITs will permit substantial growth- It is expected that REITs will add considerable growth in India’s growth story. As progressively office spaces in India become REITs complaint, a variety of smaller investors will put in their money in return for regular dividends at relatively low risk.

With the growing trends in real estate segment, investors are now moving for investment in small scale as well. Real estate investing, even on a very small scale, remains a proven means of building an individual’s cash flow and wealth.

RERA was formulated to streamline and standardize the unorganized real estate market in India. However, once the market is standardized, there will be an array of opportunities to scale-up. With untrustworthy and deceiving developers out of the market, there will be only one way to go, forward.