Knight Frank unveils real estate sentiment index

Global property consultant Knight Frank Monday launched a real estate sentiment index in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) to measure the trends in a volatile property market.

Touted to be the country's first in the realty sector, the index will the track the supply-side every six months or twice in a year to release the data quarterly to developers, builders, banks, financial institutions, private equity investors and allied stakeholders.

"There is a need to capture perceptions and expectations of the industry leaders and gauge the overall sentiment of the Indian real estate sector in a volatile environment," Knight Frank India head and managing director Shishir Baijal told reporters here.

Unlike in developed countries and matured markets, the Indian realty sector is not regulated yet and has not been given the industry status though it provides second largest employment across the country after the farm sector due to fragmentation and majority of its players such as developers, builders and contractors being in the unorganised sector.

"The sentiment index will bridge the gap between developers and end-consumers and bring them on a platform to assess supply-demand side and pricing of commercial and residential properties in metros, cities and towns across the country," Baijal said.

The index will also measure the current and future market sentiments and report on the short-term future trend of launches, sales volume, price and credit availability for office and residential space market.

"The index will also give a new dimension to the real estate research space and help the industry leaders to wait for our survey report every quarter," Ficci secretary general A. Didar Singh said on the occasion.

The London-based Knight Frank operates in 43 countries the world over and monitors commercial, agricultural and residential real estate markets annually to advise its global clients, including developers, investors and corporate tenants.