COVID-19 has grabbed the world with its spread, a pandemic like no other in the history of mankind. It has brought life to a standstill in almost every country on Earth. Needless to say it has affected business, with markets plummeting and keeping life on the edge. The real estate sector, too, has been a casualty, and we say so because the sector contributes to 10% of the GDP.
The rapid spread of virus has hampered real estate buying and selling and severely impacted construction activity. The situation will continue to be so at least for the next quarter. Thanks to some government announcements such as the three-month moratorium of loans and a plea from the Honorable Prime MInister himself to protect jobs, the hope for a recovery is still alive and burning.
Going by industry trends and estimates, it may take at least three months to resume the construction activity. As per the current market scenario, residential sales saw a 42% Y-o-Y drop in Q1 2020. According to Anarock, new launches too fell by 42% annually from 70,480 units in Q1 2019 to about 41,200 in Q1 2020.
The effect of COVID-19 is expected to have a differential impact on the commercial real estate sector. And it is not a surprise as most establishments have been forced to shut shop and are likely to open with widespread fears when the lockdown is lifted. The office trend also moved to work-from-home as most companies channel their spending to enable the workforce to log in from home. It will be interesting to see how the office space reinvents itself when life is back to normal.
What about your investment with Dhruva?
At Dhruva, your investment is in safe hands. Yes, times are turbulent but the investment is going to pick itself up in the long run because the human need is a constant. We stand committed to our customers and our people as they continue to put their trust in a brand like Dhruva. The future of our investors is in safe hands and every attempt will be made to protect their hard-earned money!