Primary real estate market unaffected by rupee notes axing

The primary real estate market will not be disturbed much with the government's decision to withdraw 500 and 1,000 rupee notes as legal tender, said a top official of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI).

Getamber Ananda, President of CREDAI-National, said: "Effectively the primary market will not be very disturbed as the inventory was sold to end users who avail home loans."

In a statement issued late Tuesday, Anand said: "Moreover the organised part of the real estate industry has always been compliant and it is only the unorganised fly-by-night players who will be affected."

"The banning of higher currency notes is a major move which will help curb unaccounted cash in the real estate sector," said Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head of the Indian arm of global real estate services firm JLL India.

"The effects will be far-reaching and immediate and will shake up the sector in no uncertain way.

"Stricter measures against black money have for long been required to help bring about greater transparency, give the Indian real estate sector more credibility and make it more attractive for foreign investors," Puri added.

According to him, black money deals were more common on the unorganised market. But this practice had in fact been decreasing due to greater awareness of buyers.

"Before too long, the caricatured version of black money driving Indian real estate is no longer applicable," he added.

--IANS

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