Urban centres to double in 25 years, helping real estate: Civil servant

With increasing urbanisation from 12 to 30 per cent, the next 20 years could see more development than in the last 50 years

Urban centres in India will double in the next 25 years as more people require facilities and residential and commercial spaces, said a senior civil servant on Tuesday.

The next 20 years could see more development than in the last 50 years, said Kuldip Narayan, joint secretary in the union ministry of housing and urban affairs, at the 16th real estate summit of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

The government is reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency and encouraging the real estate industry to adopt resource-efficient construction technology.

"After consecutive years of slowdown in the sector, last year witnessed unprecedented growth by reaching a new historical height in the commercial office segment," said Raj Menda, joint chairman of FICCI real estate committee and chairman of RMZ Corp.

The demand for Grade A premium office assets is likely to increase to 1.2 billion square feet by 2030 in India, he said, adding how the industry was improving building efficiency and sustainability.

Vipul Roongta, co-chairman of FICCI real estate committee and managing director and CEO of HDFC Capital Advisors, said four or five C's had defined the macroeconomic approach. These are "COVID, Conflict, China, Construction cost, and Crisis in financial markets", he said.

Affordable housing "is where 99 per cent of the demand is, where people are making money, inventory is getting sold, and enough intervention is happening on the supply side," said Roongta.

Arun Chawla, director general of FICCI in his welcome address said, "with an increase in urbanisation and household incomes, the demand for residential real estate has seen an unprecedented surge. As a result, India is now among the top 10 price-appreciating housing markets internationally."