Realty cos find low-cost housing lucrative: Assocham

Real estate companies are eyeing innovative and affordable housing projects due to increasing demand and huge potential of the segment, especially in times of economic slowdown, industry body Assocham today.

"Despite global financial crisis penetrating Indian markets leading to high credit crunch and hitching real estate players to slow down their investment plans, the sector was able to attract the highest investments with RBI's timely stimulus packages and the concept of low-affordable housing," Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said.

In the last four months of 2008-09, affordable housing projects constituted 12.7 per cent share amounting to Rs 35,850 crore in the total planned capex for realty sector, it said.

However, with the commencement of FY09, realty firms announced huge investment projects in the sector. In May 2008, total planned amount stood at Rs 90,219 crore due to credit crunch and high interest rates, the planned investment dipped in November 2008 to Rs 905 crore, Assocham said.

Among the states, which attracted domestic investment in the realty sector in the last fiscal were Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan, the survey said.