Budget was disappointing as there was nothing for real estate sector, government has announced to create 4 crore rural and 2 crore urban houses by 2020, but nothing concrete have been disclosed for the same. There is no disclosure with respect to affordable housing either. Besides, service tax rate is increased from 12.36% to 14%, which will further escalate the housing prices and will be counterproductive to mass and affordable housing.
Only positive factor about the budget was proposal to rationalize capital gains tax for REITs and infrastructure investment trusts is a positive move and is in line with the industry expectations. This will help in raising the funds for commercial real estate. It will also be an alternative trading avenue.
