According to the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), affordable property is expected to become a key part of the country’s residential real estate sector in 2010, as an upturn in the economy combined with the Government’s continued efforts to push infrastructure growth forward help the sector grow.

The real estate growth expectations are based on an assessment of gross domestic product (GDP) growth by CREDAI, the global revival, domestic sentiments and on the assumption that there would be no major unforeseen fluctuations in the economy or natural calamities this year

Kumar Gera, CREDAI’s chairman, said: ‘ This year will be crucial for the housing industry given the Government’s concern over the massive housing needs of the people, especially in the urban areas. Supportive policies to encourage and aid the housing requirements of all sections are expected to propel the development in the real estate and allied sectors.

‘Affordable housing will be a key factor in driving the sector and focus on tier II and tier III cities, help widen the market and generate demand.’

The market was hit particularly hard in between August and October 2008 when sales came to a standstill, with values falling by -20-35% on average across the country since August 2008. There were however some early signs of a recovery in March 2009 as prices stabilised and sales improved significantly up until the end of the year, CREDAI stated.

Gera said: ‘By the end of 2010 we expect prices in the real estate sector to roll back to at least 90% of the level prevalent in 2007/08.’