The government’s concentrated efforts on infrastructure development promises to significantly enhance housing demand and benefit around 250 ancillary industries, generating numerous job opportunities and bolstering overall economic growth. The establishment of the India Infrastructure Fund and emphasis on Public-Private partnership for infrastructure in the budget is also a game-changer for the real estate industry. The establishment of an Urban Challenge Fund of ₹1 lakh crore will fuel the ongoing momentum in rebuilding urban infrastructure and drive greater demand for real estate in the urban and semi-urban areas. SWAMIH Fund 2 is a much welcome step and will definitely help complete a number of stranded projects, thereby meeting the housing demand and enhance liquidity in the real estate sector. Also, the change announced in Budget 2025 allowing taxpayers to claim the annual value of two self-occupied properties as zero will provide significant tax relief, reduces compliance burdens, and encourages homeownership by making it more affordable for middle-class families, without having to pay income tax on notional rental values of self-occupied homes. While the budget has lent an indirect boost to real estate, it could have fulfilled a few other key expectations for the sector. The budget could have also offered a degree of relief to first-time homebuyers to stimulate the real estate sector. Going forward, the sector is in urgent need of tax breaks, single-window clearance, industry status tag etc which remains paramount for sustaining the upward trajectory of the Indian real estate market.
