A ffordable housing has been the biggest driver of growth in the real estate sector and along with the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) has reduced urban India’s housing shortage by 60%, says a Magicbricks report – Residential Real Estate: Urban Housing Deficit Down 60%.
More than 9 lakh houses of upto ₹50 lakh each have been completed in just over three years and over 30 lakh have been approved. Over 60 lakh houses have been sanctioned under the PMAY (U) till October 15, 2018, out of which 33 lakh are under beneficiary-led construction (BLC).
Around 58.25 lakh houses are in 30 sq m (EWS) category. The cost of a BLC house ranges from ₹3.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh. However, the cost may go upto ₹7.5 lakh in hilly States and some UTs. By March 2019, the government intends to sanction at least 75 lakh houses in urban India. These numbers of houses under PMAY are significant in that they address the burgeoning urban housing shortfall in the EWS and LIG categories.
Almost 40% of home buyers feel that PMAY benefits have helped them arrive at the decision to buy a house. This was in line with the consumer search trend on Magicbricks platform that revealed that the volume of searches for actively traded property has almost doubled from June 2016 to September 2018. While 50% are return users, the remaining 50% are new buyers.
