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Ahead of Budget 2026, real estate leaders urge policy stability, tax reforms, quicker approvals, and a digital push for sector growth.
Budget 2026 expectations from real estate sector
As the Union Budget 2026 approaches, India’s real estate sector is seeking policy stability, tax rationalisation and faster approvals to unlock its next phase of growth. With affordability under pressure and premium demand rising, developers, advisors and technology providers say the Budget must send clear, growth-oriented signals—especially with the new tax regime set to take effect from April 1.
Policy stability and affordable housing reset
Akshay Taneja, CEO of TDI Infrastructure, said the sector needs a long-term vision rather than temporary sops. He pointed to Tier-2 cities across North India and NCR’s outer belt emerging as self-sustained residential and luxury clusters, driven by infrastructure upgrades.
Taneja said revising the affordable housing cap from Rs 45 lakh to at least Rs 70–75 lakh, granting full industry status and recognising housing as national infrastructure could unlock institutional capital, boost employment and attract NRI inflows. He also called for simplified taxes, GST rationalisation, uniform stamp duty and higher home loan deductions to improve buyer confidence.
Demand shifts towards premium homes
Ashish Narain Agarwal, Founder and MD of PropertyPistol, highlighted a sharp shift in urban housing demand. He noted that HNI and NRI buyers now account for around 18–20% of property investments, up from 7–10% a decade ago.
Affordable housing’s share has dropped from about 37% in 2021 to 18% in 2025, while luxury homes have risen to 29%. Agarwal said tax reforms—such as unified capital gains, lower GST on under-construction homes and uniform stamp duty—along with higher incentives for first-time buyers could unlock liquidity and attract institutional money.
Execution, transparency and digital push
Vishal Raheja of InvestoXpert Advisors said infrastructure-led growth in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities is reshaping demand, but delays from complex regulations and fragmented land records remain a hurdle. He called for single-window approvals, faster digitisation of land records and a national transaction database.
From a technology lens, Pete Nicholson of Nemetschek Group said the Budget should promote digital engineering, geospatial tools and predictive modelling to improve safety, resilience and efficiency across infrastructure projects.
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January 29, 2026, 18:07 IST
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