Is Affordable housing still a dream or a reality?

Alpha International City Kurukshetra

Is Affordable housing still a dream or a reality? Affordable housing can be a reality if the government and developers are sincere in their intent to meet the huge unmet demand for affordable housing. The margins in this category are not as lucrative as the premium segment, which in any case has witnessed an oversupply. With the slow down and recession, the prices in the premium segment fell to almost 50% in one year. This resulted in a vacuum and informed investors acknowledge that the buzzword today is ‘Affordable Housing’ -- a vision of housing every family in the country.

Added to this most sustainable trend, the resurrection of investors seems imminent which we as developers will precipitate along with financial institutions and banks that are now actively encouraging low interest rates on affordable housing.

The question is how to best realize the potential?
Part of the infrastructure in the NCR is being built to decongest the city road network by way of expressways, which should be further encouraged by enabling and facilitating large and mass habitats along these expressways where cheap land could be made available by the Public Enterprise. Within that initiative, Private Developers could be encouraged through Private Public Partnership (PPT) to build affordable housing where the general populace could live and use rapid transport systems to travel to work.Mass scale housing for the general population is the need of the hour for initiating and sustaining inclusive growth. This will also help clean the environment of cities that are bursting at their seams. As a consequence of such increased infrastructure and development there will be an automatic expansion of Megapolises that will envelop several tier 2 and 3 towns in their growth. Further, the cost effectiveness or affordability factor will contribute to the increased attraction of these suburban areas.

The thrust to build such mass habitats will also call for innovative methods of construction by using newer energy efficient environment friendly material with technologies that are not only affordable but also qualitatively durable. Besides, these modern innovations are efficient in terms of deliveries and simple to complete through the use of pre-fabricated ready-to-use material.

Many of the developers in the surrounding outskirts of metros have announced affordable housing in the range of Rs.5 Lacs to about Rs.15 Lacs for 1 to 2 BHK units. Some even have provided 3 BHK units at prices of Rs.18 to 20 Lacs. In addition to the initiatives by the developers, the government should also consider tax sops including cuts in duties and levies on every completed affordable housing project that meets with the requirement in terms of accountable deliverables.

Of course the slowdown will probably continue for some time to come but with the second successive fiscal stimulus by the government coupled with the buoyancy to build affordable housing, will help to realise the dreams of many a common man of finally owning a house.