Brokers Are Now a Party to Govt's Council on Realty : The Economic Time

Mumbai:



Property agents key stakeholder in realty industry along with home buyers, builders

The central government, through a crucial amendment, has included real estate agents in the Central Advisory Council that will help the government understand issues related to the real estate sector.

The amendment makes property brokers a key stakeholder in the real estate industry along with home buyers and builders.In a separate development pertaining to the same Bill, the Rajya Sabha Select Committee has added that the functions of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, to be formed under the proposed Bill, will also include protection of interest of agents along with allottees and promoters.

The council is proposed to be formed under the aegis of the amended Real Estate Bill and the Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation will be the exofficio chairman of the same. The advisory council will be established after the enactment of the proposed realty estate Bill.

The group will be advising the central government on a continuous basis on the implementation of the Act, recommend policy, protection of consumer interest and foster growth and development of the real estate sector. Apart from property brokers, the council will have one member representing key stakeholders including consumers, builders, architect and the legal fraternity.

“We expect the Council to be formed soon after the Bill gets enacted. The Council can act as a prime mover in initiating debates on critical aspects of the real estate industry . By including real estate agents, the government will now have better understanding of several issues that relate to consumer satisfaction in real estate transactions, as agents interact with customers more than what builders do,“ said Sanjay Bhargava, founder of realty advisory company Bombay Homes.

While property brokers have welcomed the move, they also highlighted other key issues that need government's attention.

Various broker bodies have suggested setting up registration criterion for realty agents along with minimum educational qualification, while voicing their concern on agents being treated at par with builders.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, seeks to establish Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) at the state level for the regulation and development of the real estate sector.

It aims at ensuring consumer protection and standardisation in business practices and transactions in the real estate sector.

`Realty Prices in Mumbai Up 3% In June Quarter'

NEW DELHI: Property prices in Bengaluru rose 6% in the quarter to June, higher than all other key markets in the country, according to Magicbricks.com's PropIndex report, reports RaviTeja Sharma. Prices in Mumbai rose 3%, while those in Gurgaon remained stagnant. Property prices in Noida, Delhi and Ghaziabad declined between 1% and 3%.

In the June quarter, the National Property Index saw a marginal increase of 1% in value. The southern region comprising Bengaluru (6%), Hyderabad (4%) and Chennai (1%) was the best performer followed by the western region with Mumbai (3%), Pune (3%) and Ahmedabad remaining constant. In a survey done by Magicbricks, 49% of consumers surveyed said they were looking for homes in the sub-. `60 lakh price bracket.Among them, the majority (47%) wanted a 2 BHK apartment.

“While consumer interest is focused in the lower budget categories, the supply side is catering to higher budget segments. The propensity to introduce more units in 3BHK format exacerbates the situation as its larger size increases the acquisition cost,“ said E Jayashree Kurup, head, content & research, at Magicbricks, which is owned by the publishers of this newspaper.