Investing In Immovables A Mirage?

When Prabhat, 40, won `35 lakh as a lottery prize, he was on cloud nine. Wanting to make the best use of this windfall for his long-term goals, particularly retirement, Prabhat purchased a two bedroom apartment in one of the poshest areas of the city, based on the age-old assumption that investing in real estate offers bumper returns in the future that can help one reach crucial life goals. Unfortunately, this belief is a mirage. According to a Knight Frank report, growth in residential prices in the last four years in India’s top eight cities has been below retail inflation. A gap that has increased since H1 2016, the lull in real estate is expected to continue in the coming days too. According to National Housing Bank data, on one hand, the property prices in Bengaluru and Mumbai increased annually between June 2013 and September 2017 by 5.75 per cent and 7.50 per cent. On the...