Hiccups apart, realty activities on the upswing

Despite drastic increase in the construction costs, activities in the real estate sector have witnessed growth, a real estate consulting firm, CBRE said in its recent findings. The report titled 'India Real Estate - Variance in Construction Costs' mentioned that the prices of cement have nearly tripled in the last 16 years, while the cost of structural steel more than doubled between April 2005 and November 2017. The report said revealing that of the six leading cities in India (Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi), Mumbai remains the most expensive. Construction costs in Chennai and Bengaluru are almost on par with Delhi and Pune. Variation in costs could be primarily attributed to different demand levels, proximity to supply centres as well as the efficiency of logistics networks across these cities. Rising demand for real estate as well as infrastructure development is expected to propel the construction industry towards a growth trajectory. Already, the implementation of GST has impacted the cost of raw materials and streamlined inter-state and import taxes, giving the industry a major boost, said Chairman, India and South East Asia, CBRE, Anshuman Magazine