Sobha, Indiabulls Real Estate gain up to 5% as FM hints at booster dose

The real estate sector has been struggling for the last three years and has not revived since demonetisation and the introduction of good and services tax (GST).

Realty stocks including Indiabulls Real Estate, Sobha, and Prestige Estate Projects gained up to 5 per cent in the morning deals on Wednesday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said  the Centre is working with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) towards tweaking the existing laws to make them conducive for the real estate sector.

"The sluggishness in the sector needs to be addressed and we are glad to tell you that we have alternative funds approaching us,” Sitharaman told media persons during the silver subilee celebrations of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). 

The finance minister accepted that the real sector has not been part of the government’s economy booster plant but now her ministry is ready to focus on it. “The government and the RBI are working to address the pains of the realty sector; until now, we have not touched this critical sector as part of the measures. We have done a lot of work to push consumption since August, but have not touched the real estate sector,” she said. READ REPORT HERE

Individually, Sobha and Prestige Estate Projects each gained 5.3 per cent, followed by Indiabulls Real Estate (4.9 per cent), Godrej Properties (3.5 per cent), and DLF (2.9 per cent). Besides, Phoenix Mills, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Sunteck Realty, and Brigade Enterprises advanced in the range of 1.4 to 4.1 per cent.

At 9:42 am, the Nifty Realty index was trading 2.78 per cent higher with all the 10 constituents were trading in the green. In comparison, the benchmark Nifty50 index declined 0.27 per cent. So far in calendar year 2019, the Nifty Realty index has outperformed the benchmark by surging 15.2 per cent, as against a 9.7 per cent rise in the Nifty50 index.

The realty sector has been struggling for the last three years and has not revived since demonetisation and the introduction of good and services tax (GST). Many bankers have already made it clear that they are extremely cautious while lending to the real estate sector. The sector is struggling with severe liquidity issues and imbalance of supply and demand.