95% Realtors Fear Project Delays Due to 2ND Covid Wave, Seek Urgent Relief

New Delhi: Over 95 per cent developers in the country expect delays in project completion due to the second wave of Covid-19, according to a survey by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI).

The survey also showed that developers feel relief measures from the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are of utmost necessity to avoid delay.

The CREDAI report noted that these delays are attributed to a range of factors, with 92 per cent developers experiencing labour shortage at sites, 83 per cent developers are working with less than half the workforce, and over 82 per cent of developers are facing project approval delays.

Harsh Vardhan Patodia, President, CREDAI National, said: "The real estate sector showed tremendous resilience in bouncing back on a cautious recovery path post the first wave, despite little relief measures."

"However, the second wave has prompted us to reflect and re-evaluate the growth path of the industry, and we felt it was vital to assess the challenges faced by the customers and industry partners in light of the recent developments," he said.

The findings reveal that the second wave has had a more debilitating impact on the real estate sector than the first wave, the CREDAI President said.

Further, factors such as recent spike in construction materials including steel and cement have contributed to more than 10 per cent increase in construction cost for more than 88 per cent developers.

The 'Covid Impact Analysis Report' also showed that various financial constraints and liquidity crunch are further adding to the problem, with 77 per cent developers experiencing issues in servicing of existing loans, 85 per cent developers facing disruptions in planned collection, and 69 per cent are facing issues in disbursement of customer home loans.

Patodia said that the industry body has made a representation to the government citing the survey and requesting the government to infuse urgent financial stimulus and initiate quick progressive measures to assist recovery.