RERA has caused supply-side disruption in realty space: UTI AMC

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has caused supply-side disruptions in the sector, Vetri Subramaniam of UTI Asset Management Company said in an interview to CNBC-TV18. “Because of RERA, there is a lot more tightness in business in terms of supply,” he said.

There has been much consolidation on the supply side because finance is no longer available as easily as before, said Subramaniam, Group President and Head-Equity at UTI AMC.

He said the interest rates today are the lowest he has seen in his lifetime. "You have extremely favourable, enabling conditions in place today with the kind of rates at which you can get a mortgage today at 6.5 percent,” he said.

The remarks from the seasoned fund manager come at a time when optimism on the upcoming festive season is driving demand for realty shares on Dalal Street. Experts say low interest rates and a pickup in demand for housing are likely to boost the property market in the coming months.

Subramaniam believes enabling conditions such as low interest rates and significant consolidation on the supply side makes the sector attractive now.

“Real estate sales and new housing sales on some level are always connected to demographic and income advancement. It's not that none of that has happened in India over the last few years. It has been there but we had to work our way through," he said.

Realty companies in the past have disappointed with their ability to generate cash flow. "I can only hope that some (companies) have learned their lessons from the past cycle and this time... We see a lot better execution. And the trick in Vienna state has always been execution,” said Subramaniam.

According to Irfan Razack, CMD of Prestige Group, potential first-time homebuyers who were sitting on the fence are now making purchases. Many people are trying to upgrade their homes as well, he said.

“Plus, when the going is good, you always get a small percentage of investors getting into the market to take advantage of the overall upswing. So, it is a combination of all three that makes demand real. I think things are going good (for the sector); people are buying new homes,” he said in an interview to CNBC-TV18 on Monday.

Murtuza Arsiwalla, Director at Kotak Institutional Equities, believes it is hard to find value in realty stocks at the current juncture.

“We are not in a value zone... We are now looking at growth expectations,” he said.

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