Good morning and happy RUOK Day, the time to check on your
loved ones and support those battling life's ups and downs.
India Post, with its 136,000 retail points has teamed up with LIC Housing Finance to sell mortgage products to its 4.5 crore customers. Quite a simple value add for the postmen.
Not all things are simple though - like how to safely demolish 32-storey apartment blocks without vaporising the neighbourhood and how to stop Mumbai from sinking! More on that below. Enjoy today's Chai and hit reply to start a conversation.
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TRENDS
From Crisis to Transition
India’s real estate sector was hit hard by the pandemic just
when it was recovering from a 5-year slide owing to; first, demonetisation and
second, the NBFC crisis.
However, despite a deep cash crunch and a drop in demand for
residential, retail and commercial real estate due to two COVID-19 waves, the
last couple of months have brought in some much-needed good news for the
sector.
Yeah? What’s looking up?
Customer sentiment and as a result, improving demand for
property.
Reason?
In Fact, Here are Three.
An improving economy – Many core sectors like retail,
automobile, agriculture and construction are on a sure-footed recovery path and
only the contact-heavy industries like transport, tourism and hospitality
remain weak. Hiring in India’s information technology (IT), healthcare and
education sectors has shot through the roof while salary hikes are part of
conversations over cutting chai again.
Low Interest Rates – Home loans are way cheaper today than
they were just a few years ago and fence sitters (now fortified with two doses
of the vaccine) are ready to buy that property. This translates to more demand
for real estate.
Consolidation – The perfect storm the sector weathered over
the last year-and-a-half has ensured that most small, under capitalised
developers have called it quits, making way for large, trustworthy corporates
with deep pockets to take charge of the Indian primary real estate market.
The home buying aspirant, a start-up looking for space and a
large corporate eyeing expansion are all seriously contemplating space
consumption again and suddenly, from a state of crisis, the real estate sector
could now be in a state of transition towards better days.
If another COVID-19 wave does not throw a spanner in the
works, this transition..
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FINANCE
Cryptocurrency Investment Loan, Anyone?
Cryptocurrencies are all the rage these days. With stories
of fortunes made and viral tales of forgotten passwords to millions running
amok on social media, one can safely bet that cryptocurrency is here for good.
Looking at the meteoric rise of Bitcoin and others, many
Indians are ready to build careers out of cryptocurrency investment and
trading, meaning it is a sought-after place to park your money and watch it
grow.
While you can buy a Tesla model 3 with Dogecoin, could you
walk into a bank (for example Yes Bank) and ask for a loan to make a
cryptocurrency investment?
Say an INR 500k line of credit to invest purely in crypto?
No.
Okay, a loan to invest in the stock market then? No.
Gold is solid. Can you get a loan to invest in gold where
the bank has a 100% collateral? No again.
But what about property? Will a bank finance your real
estate investment? Yes mam. Come right in.
There are many decent investment options out there, gold,
stocks and cryptocurrency included, but the most trusted of them all is real
estate. Properties inspire a confidence that other investment modes do not yet.
Period.
So, should you invest in Indian real estate? It's gonna be
here forever, FYI.
Hey Siri, Update My Property Khata
Let's face it. Meaningful real estate developments in India
often do not see the light of day because of glitches in the property records.
Paper trails that go back decades can be safely blamed for the current misery and
the air of suspicion that fills the room the moment a property is mentioned.
404 Finally Found
The Karnataka government, in a commendable effort to
increase transparency around real estate transactions will shortly start
issuing digitally signed khata certificates for property registrations in
Bengaluru.
BBMP spokespersons emphasized that this is a sure short way
to avoid fraud (for example cases where one property has been sold several
times over with careless abandon) and fake representation of ownership during
conveyance.
The digital khatas will contain 47 types of information,
including photographs of the property and its owner(s), in addition to being
digitally signed, barcoded and safely stored on the cloud.
DIY Enthusiasts, Cheer Up
With the customised e-Aasthi software's property owner
interface, property records can be self updated post events like sale,
inheritance, partition, will, gift or land acquisition.
There is space for the usual court decrees too. Self
updates, are subject to scrutiny and approval by relevant authorities.
Before the naysayer in you begins to take over, please note
that since November 2020, the Palike started a pilot in three districts where
digital certificates are being successfully issued for almost a year now.
Chivalrous deeds, selfless acts of help and attending Sunday
prayers definitely give you some good Karma but nothing guarantees a Karma
credit like sharing the Chai with your friends and colleagues.
Just forward this email with a little ‘I-love-the-Chai’ kind
of note and if they like it, they can use the button below and join the band of
smarter folks like you.
More tomorrow.
☕ The Crew@Ginger Chai