Affordable housing offers US$ 0.62 Tn worth of investment opportunities in India in the next five years
Kolkata, Nov 22 (Representative) India’s affordable housing offers US$ 0.62 trillion of funding opportunities for private funds in the backdrop of the government’s push for this segment, Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy, in its latest report “Brick by Brick – Long term capital to fund affordable housing for all” – said. The affordable housing sector in India has witnessed private equity (PE) investments to the tune of US$ 2,597 mn since 2011[2]. The investment in affordable housing has been 17 per cent of the total PE investment in the residential segment in India in the last 10 years (since 2011), mentioned the report. However, it is yet to become a major theme for the funds in the country with very few private equity funds dedicated to funding affordable homes. The report was launched during the ongoing APREA – Asia Pacific Real Estate Leaders Congress 2021 currently being held (November 22 – 26, 2021) during the session – Affordable Housing – Long Term investment.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs demand-based assessment, which is based on an assessment of the number of houses which the households will choose to occupy given their preferences and ability to pay (at given prices), has pegged the affordable housing demand at approximately 11.22 million houses. Urban India comprises 35pc of the country’s population and is witnessing unprecedented rates of migration leading to rapid urbanisation resulting in demand preceding the supply. It is estimated that by the year 2030 more than 40 pc of the Indian population will live in urban India as against the current figure of 35 pc, which will create additional demand for affordable units with huge investment opportunities for private equity players. Nearly US$1, 662mn worth of funds have been invested with a focus on the development of affordable homes in India in the last 3 years. To address this housing crisis, various funds and institutes have stepped into the affordable housing segment.
These funds have focused their entire investments on the development of affordable housing while providing liquidity/credit to credible developers while using asset management to hedge risks. The largest of these funds operational in India is the HDFC Capital Advisors (HCARE fund) has raised USD 1.1 billion which is primarily used for long term financing of affordable housing projects across 20 cities in India. The fund is committed to finance 1,71,000 homes in India and develop 180 mn sq.ft. With the adoption of the PMAY policy in 2015, the Government of India has targeted to meet a demand of 11.22 mn homes. Since the launch of the policy to 31st March 2021, 11.3 mn houses have been sanctioned, out of which, 4.8 mn have been completed till date. The figures indicate that the policy is close to achieving its set target. The need for affordable housing in the growing urban sprawls of India has caught the attention of many developers, who are seeking to exploit this growing demand. Over 50 pc of all India residential launches in the top eight cities in the last 5 years have been in the sub-INR 50 Lakh segment.