Realty to see turnaround after next 2 quarters: Kotak

The real estate sector could witness a turnaround in the next two quarters and would see fund flow after that, Kotak Realty Fund CEO S Srinivasan has said.

"It will take at least two quarters before the fund flow to estate developer community begins, and the sector can witness a turnaround," he said yesterday at a seminar organised by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries here.

Among the league of big ticket realty funds, Kotak realty fund currently has corpus of Rs 3,500 crore, which it would invest in the next one to two years.

"Kotak as a leading realty fund has corpus of Rs 3,500 crore to invest in real estate deals even at the land acquisition stage, out of which so far we have invested Rs 1,200 crore," Srinivasan said adding that they intend to invest the balance in the next one to two years.

In last three years, we have witnessed excesses across all sectors, including real estate and it will take sometime before the sanity is restored, Srinivasan said.

Highlighting the opportunities and challenges in finance, banking for the real estate sector, Srinivasan said "as developers we should work in coordination with planners to regulate the frenzy in construction of shopping centres."
    
According to Srinivasan, the planners (government) should impose restriction on construction of malls within a specified catchment area.
    
He suggested that developers should build up balance sheets despite all odds such as zoning regulations, tax saving measures, so as to show that its a sustainable business model.