Stamp duty rates should be made uniform at 5-6% across the country, which at present vary from state to state and range between 8-15%. Says Pranav Ansal, MD, Ansal API, "Rationalisation of stamp duty which is currently different in every state, is our foremost consideration. If this happens, it will benefit the government, states, real estate companies and the consumer." Adds Pradeep Jain, chairman, Parsvnath Developers Ltd., "A stamp duty regulator would inspire the confidence of property buyers and facilitate easier transactions in the real estate market."

Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulations) Act prescribes limits on urban areas that can be acquired by a single entity. In today's environment, this Act needs to be liberalised to allow developers to own and develop larger areas of land under one entity.

Standard rules/duties governing transaction and other incidental cost which make every real estate transaction costlier also need to be addressed. "Prior to March 2, 2005 FDI in the real estate sector was prohibited. However, the sector is now open to FDI but to a limited extent. Allowing inflow of foreign funds in the country should be taken as top priority. RBI and Sebi need to align their thinking so that both regulators allow inflow of funds to finance large developments in India," says Arvind Parakh, CEO, corporate strategy and finance, Omaxe Ltd.

Assocham, Ernst & Young and other institutions have projected a huge shortage of dwelling units in the country, not to forget the recent retail growth story unfolding in India. But, Parakh says that this growth cannot be funded by the Indian banking system alone. "And if RBI starts preemptive hikes in interest rates, it may well prove to be counter productive. Moreover, a tighter policy to prick a housing bubble (if anybody may think it to be) could also be potentially damaging for other sectors," he says.

While the uncertainty around the concept of SEZ and its implementation need to be explained, industry leaders feel the government should allow private housing finance companies to raise funds through ECB rates, which can open another source of finance for the sector. Another proposal that should be considered is to allow developers to use ECBs to fund their working capital.

Sebi should form guidelines for the formation of specially dedicated real estate mutual funds which would provide long term capital to the sector. Says Parakh, "The real estate sector has been lobbying hard with the government to allow fund its long-term growth requirements. Now it depends on the government, RBI and the Sebi to come together and allow a platform for this sector to grow, as a backbone for the double digit GDP growth of the country."

Reduction in excise duty on cement and steel as also exemption of indirect and direct taxes on their import will reduce the cost of construction for real estate developers. "This in turn would help developers in providing housing at reasonable cost. The cost of housing has witnessed a significant rise lately, owing to rise in land prices," says Jain.