Good morning, Omicron is everywhere. It seems to be appearing out of the woodwork, but there's solace in the fact that unlike Delta, its life threatening side is quite ineffective against fully vaccinated folks.
⚠ Vaccines save lives.
However, when French President Emmanuel Macron bluntly stated that, if you’re unvaccinated, he wants to make your life miserable, other French politicians lost it.
The President's vaccination comments drew intense criticism at a time when the government is trying to pass a bill that would bar 5 million unvaccinated French from taking part in most social activities, like going to a restaurant.
And we are not even Djoking. 🤷♀️
How Covid Rewired Homebuying
Covid came out with both barrels blazing on the real estate sector, and now that housing is making a strong comeback, here's a look at the changes it brought in the habits of the home-buyers.
Everything Digital
From online meetings to presentations, real estate has finally embraced technology.
The realty sector successfully went fully-online, as realty portals seamlessly brought homebuyers, tenants and landlords on one platform.
📎 Today real estate professionals are using machine learning, virtual reality, and even real time booking engines to help homebuyers transact remotely.
Make It Large
As more people work from home and have children attending school online, they need more space.
📎 Per a Square Yards survey, homebuyers post Covid want houses with more space and to meet this demand, builders have also started increasing the size of houses.
Country Roads
Covid has made buyers look for homes outside crowded city areas. These properties come cheaper and allow buyers to afford a better and bigger lifestyle.
There has also been a rise in demand for villas and farmhouses as some look to build their perfect weekend getaway.
📎 As a result, builders are now launching more projects outside metros inviting a lot of interest.
Global Food Prices At 10-Year High
Putting immense pressure on a large part of the global population, world food prices jumped 28% in 2021 to their highest level in a decade and hopes for a return to more stable market conditions this year are slim, the U.N.'s food agency said on Thursday.
The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 125.7 points in 2021, the highest since 131.9 in 2011, per Reuters.
What you should know:
📌 FAO's price index up 28% in 2021 despite December fall.
📌 U.N. agency warns of persistent price tensions in 2022.
📌 Dairy prices rose again in December on lower milk output.
Delhi RERA: A White Paper On A Grey Area
A recently published white paper by Sotheby’s revealed that only 32 real estate projects were registered under the Delhi RERA. It is among the lowest in the country and is a cause of great concern.
Why Just 32?
Thanks to a clause that's more of a convenient loophole.
Presently, RERA rules exempt any development up to 500 sq. m. and having less than 8 apartments, from registering with the Delhi RERA.
As a result, builders find ways to evade RERA registration by ensuring the number of units is less than the prescribed limit.
This malpractice is encouraged further when banks approve loans to homebuyers without proper scrutiny of non-RERA registered floors, giving homebuyers incentives and promoting unregistered projects.
One Sided Agreements
Most incomplete and delayed projects are a result of one sided builder-buyer agreements through General Power of Attorneys (GPAs). These transactions are undertaken to avoid paying registration stamp duty and the GST to the Delhi government.
Moreover, the agreements are structured in such a way so as to take full control of the property, and with RERA on a rain check, offer little to no protection to the original owner.
What can be done?
📌 The govt could amend the RERA act to reduce the threshold to 200 sq. m. or 4 units, which should cover almost 90% of the residential market of Delhi.
📌 Besides, to approve building sanction plans, completion certificate, and registration of sale deed, a RERA registration number could be made mandatory.
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Cryptocurrency-linked crime surged to a record high last year in terms of value, with illegal addresses receiving $14 billion in digital currencies, up 79% from $7.8 billion in 2020, per Reuters.
Have a safe, easy weekend. See you on Monday morning. 💚
☕ The Crew@Ginger Chai