The real estate sector in the country is one of great importance. According to the report of the Technical Group on Estimation of Housing Shortage, an estimated shortage of 26.53 million houses during the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) provides a big investment opportunity.

India leads the pack of top real estate investment markets in Asia for 2010, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Urban Land Institute, a global non-profit education and research institute, released in December 2009. The report, which provides an outlook on Asia-Pacific real estate investment and development trends, points out that India, in particular Mumbai and Delhi, are good real estate investment destinations. Residential properties are viewed as more promising than other sectors. While, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru top the pack in the hotel 'buy' prospects as well.

The study is based on the opinions of over 270 international real estate professionals, including investors, developers, property company representatives, lenders, brokers and consultants.

Further, real estate companies are coming up with various residential and commercial projects to fulfill the demand for residential and office properties in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. For instance, Ansal Properties has several residential projects in cities such as Jodhpur, Ajmer, Jaipur, Panipat, Kundli and Agra. Omaxe has also planned around 40 residential and integrated township projects in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, majority of them being in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. The growth in real estate in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is mainly due to increase in demand for organised realty and availability of land at affordable prices in these cities.

According to the data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), housing and real estate sector including cineplex, multiplex, integrated townships and commercial complexes etc, attracted a cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$ 8.4 billion from April 2000 to April 2010 wherein the sector witnessed FDI amounting US$ 2.8 billion in the fiscal year 2009-10.

New Projects

Private equity fund IL&FS Investment Managers (IIML) plans to invest US$ 300 million in real estate and urban infrastructure projects by the end of 2010.

Godrej Group's real estate company, Godrej Properties and Frontier Home Developers, plans to develop a residential project in Gurgaon. This would be the first residential project in the national capital region (NCR) for Godrej Properties.

Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation will invest US$ 444.7 million over the next three years in seven small cities in West Bengal, Tripura and Rajasthan. The money would be used to build integrated townships, healthcare facilities, hospitality and sports facilities, retail malls, logistics hubs and commercial and residential complexes.

Realty major Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Ltd plans to invest about US$ 330.8 million over the next three years on expansion of its existing integrated townships and to develop a group housing project in Haryana.

Integrated property development and asset management company, Vision India Real Estate Pvt Ltd, is planning to develop logistics parks in Bengaluru and Chennai, with an outlay of US$ 110 million.

Tata Housing is planning to launch about 10 new residential projects in both affordable and luxury segments in 2010-11, with an investment of about US$ 268.9 million along with its partners.