Market experts Dipan Mehta, Director of Elixir Equities, Gulam Zia, Senior Executive Director at Knight Frank India, and Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants shared their 2024 outlook on the real estate sector in an exclusive chat with CNBC-TV18.

Puri suggested that if the current economic momentum persists with low inflation and interest rates, 2024 will prove to be much than the performance seen in 2023.

He expects developers to exercise caution on pricing, aiming to pass on increases only related to construction or land costs. He projected a price increase ranging between 8% and 12% in 2024, with a focus on maintaining reasonable margins.

Home sales for the top seven cities surged by an impressive 31% in 2023 compared to the previous year, as reported by Anarock. Bengaluru emerged as the frontrunner, witnessing the highest spike in sales and a noteworthy decline in inventories. There was also an increase in property prices. Real estate stocks such as Brigade Enterprises, Prestige Estates Projects, and Macrotech Developers doubled in value over the past year.

However, the affordable housing segment faced a setback, with sales plummeting by a substantial 26% compared to the pre-COVID year of 2018.

Zia shared insights on the office market, anticipating potential record-breaking performance in 2024. He noted a decline in Indian investments in Dubai due to changes in taxation, speculating that Indian markets could benefit from these shifts, leading to continued growth, especially in the upper-end market.

From a stock perspective, Mehta suggested that real estate stocks may align closely with market indices in 2024, unlike the outperformance seen in 2023. For risk-averse investors, he recommended considering established names like Godrej Properties and DLF. However, Mehta highlighted Sobha Developers as an attractive pick from a valuation standpoint, along with newer listings that could bridge valuation gaps.

Source: cnbctv18.com