Real estate industry sentiment plunges to record low during Jan-Mar: Survey

The real estate industry sentiment plunged to an all-time low during January-March as stakeholders turned pessimistic, foreseeing an adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on demand-supply and liquidity in the market, a survey showed.

According to property consultant Knight Frank and industry bodies Ficci and Naredco, the real estate sector, which showed signs of revival during the October-December quarter of 2019, has suffered a huge setback because of the Covid-19 crisis with both current and future sentiment index falling to an all-time low in pessimistic zone.

"With the crisis playing havoc on the economy and real estate sector, the current sentiments of the real estate stakeholders in India have dropped to an all-time low of 31 in the first quarter (January March) 2020," said the 24th Knight Frank-Ficci-Naredco Real Estate Sentiment Index Q1 2020 Survey report.

The future sentiment score, which outlines the market expectations of industry players (including builders and financial institutions) for the next six months, has also fallen to a score of 36 in Q1 2020 against the score of 59 in Q4 2019.

A score of over 50 signifies optimism in sentiment, a score of 50 means the sentiment is the same or neutral, while a score of below 50 shows pessimism.

Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said,"The pandemic has created an unprecedented condition which is impacting global markets and societies. There is already a severe shortage of liquidity due to the complete standstill that most economies have come to."