Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: On behalf of CREDAI I welcome the government’s continued thrust on infrastructure, which remains a strong positive for the real estate sector. Investments in highways, metros, logistics corridors, railways and urban infrastructure will enhance connectivity, unlock new growth corridors and support long-term urban development, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
The emphasis on ease of doing business through faster approvals, simplified processes and digitisation is also encouraging, as it can significantly reduce project timelines and holding costs, benefiting both developers and homebuyers.
However, CREDAI is deeply disappointed by the absence of any meaningful measures for affordable housing. The long-pending demand to revise the outdated price and area caps has once again been ignored. With rising land and construction costs, the affordable housing segment risks shrinking from nearly 18% to about 12% of total housing supply—posing a serious concern for the lower middle class and middle-income homebuyers.
Affordable housing is not a welfare initiative; it is economic infrastructure. A sustained decline in supply will inevitably lead to higher rentals, longer commuting distances and the growth of informal housing.
The Budget also offers no relief on GST rationalisation, input tax credit, or special incentives for developers. Income tax benefits on home loan principal and interest remain unchanged, despite inflation, and income tax rates broadly remain the same. Industry status for real estate has yet again not been granted.
Overall, while this is a growth-oriented budget anchored in macro reforms and backed by a ₹12.2 lakh crore public capex outlay and higher state fund transfers of ₹14 lakh crore, the lack of targeted support for affordable housing is a missed opportunity. Revising the affordable housing caps would have aligned policy with market realities, expanded eligibility for GST benefits, and directly improved affordability and buyer sentiment in urban markets.