Coronavirus: CREDAI says property sales, construction affected; seeks govt help to tide over crisis

Realtors' apex body CREDAI on Wednesday said the construction work has come to a standstill while sales have been hit following the outbreak of coronavirus, and demanded the government to provide a three-month moratorium on debt repayment, additional liquidity and more time to complete ongoing real estate projects.

The industry body has written a letter to Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri seeking a bail out package.

Giving details about the impact of coronavirus scare on Indian real estate, CREDAI said sales velocity and the receivables have been hit drastically leading to default/delay in fulfilling financial commitments (interest & principal).

Property buyers are skipping instalments payable on their purchases of real estate, it said, adding that rental income of retail properties has been affected due to closure of malls and multiplexes.

"The construction work has come to a standstill and delays in procurement/delivery of construction material (imported and indigenous) as well as the labour disruptions are bound to cause delay in completion of ongoing projects," CREDAI said.

The association said that the governments world over have stepped in to provide immediate relief to businesses and industry to enable them to deal with the severity of the COVID 19 shock and urged Indian government to announce measures to help real estate developers.

CREDAI recommended various steps that need to be taken immediately for cushioning the shock of COVID 19 to the Indian real estate sector.

The association said the government should provide relief in interest and principal repayments falling due over the next three months