Being at a defining point in the history in the real estate, it's time to know as to how will the sector perform in the next year. Rarely has a business sector seen so much churn, conjecture, simultaneous pessimism and optimism and prophetic predictions in just a few months. Anuj Puri, Chairman and Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj says, "Due to the ongoing inflationary trends, the Indian real estate sector is likely to under-perform for at least the next six to 12 months. During this period, investors are well-advised to concentrate only on key listed players who are better placed to ride out the storm by virtue of their unique business model or via tactical strategy shifts." Industry experts believe that in the residential space, developers must now be ready to lower their selling prices in order to revive demand as end users are only waiting for this to happen. Once this happens, an upswing in residential real estate sales will be seen again.

Sanjay Dutt, Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefiled says, "Real estate market will be strong here in the long term. Developers should not tie-up with many private equity players, but only with the select few reliable ones. They are tapping several opportunities to de-risk through alternate routes including selective private equity players apart from partly selling their finished products or projects." For instance, Delhi-based Uppal builders -- who are into residential and commercial developments -- have also forayed into development of special economic zones (SEZs) by tying up with Vornado, (specialist in developing SEZs) of USA.

At the recently held India Retail Forum (IRF) in Mumbai, Ireena Vittal, partner, McKinsey & Company said, "The real estate and the consumer durables segment can witness inventory pile up in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, infrastructure sector will grow at 15% additional rate." There are, without any doubt, a few pockets of excessive supply in both residential and commercial space, but the overall demand still remains largely unaddressed. There is still a huge demand for housing or office space in many parts of the country, but improper pricing and a faulty product mix are proving to be stumbling blocks. India -- and for that matter China --represent an economic scenario that has evolved separately and on very different parameters from the economies in most of the developed countries. India is an emerging economy, with an emerging and maturing real estate market. The fall in demand will prevail for approximately 10 to 12 months, but it will not be of a magnitude comparable to that of other countries. India continues to be very attractive, but foreign investors are now justifiably awaiting greater transparency and stability.