‘Policy stability key to real estate growth’: Industry leaders on reforms, RERA, affordable housing & blockchain at ETNow.in Realty Conclave & Awards 2026

At the ETNow.in Realty Conclave & Awards 2026 (West Edition) today in Mumbai, leaders from the real estate industry discussed the importance of policy stability in the industry, redevelopment challenges in Mumbai, affordable housing concerns, and the urgent need for single-window, time-bound approvals.

Experts also discussed DCPR 2034 reforms, RERA transparency, cluster development, infrastructure-led growth, and blockchain-based land records as potential game changers for India’s housing sector.

Importance of policy in real estate

During the special session 'Policy Shifts Reshaping Urban Housing' at ETNow.in Realty Conclave & Awards 2026, Ghulam Zia, Senior Executive Director at Knight Frank stressed that real estate, by nature, is a long-gestation business and therefore critically dependent on policy stability. “Police making and policy makers have a huge role to play in not just real estate but overall growth of a country, economy and so on. Real estate has always been driven completely by the kind of policies we make,” Zia said, recalling the pre-regulatory era marked by ambiguity and investor uncertainty.

He noted that reforms such as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), GST implementation and clearer foreign direct investment norms have significantly reshaped the sector over the past 10–15 years.

“I recall 2005, press note 2 came in where foreign direct investment was allowed in the country, but that was a haphazard step forward where investors who came had no clarity on how to invest, where to invest, the guarantee of their investments not going bad, nothing was there. They just came in on a blind faith and most of them burnt their fingers, they lost their shirt. So, what changed later on? I would say last 10-15 odd years, we have seen a huge policy shift. We have overall for the country. We've got much better policy framework. So, where we are is a great place to be as far. As real estate is concerned with lot of uncertainties behind us, lot of question marks eliminated. We are in a very open environment where we know what kind of business we are entering into. I recall those are the days when corporates were shuttering to get into real estate,” he said.

“Today there is a better policy framework. So you have new names coming in. Kinds of Birlas, Raymonds etc. They are coming now. this is the second coming of Arvin…So, the environment is much suitable for better supply side players to come in,” he added.

Mumbai’s redevelopment cycle — particularly of buildings over 50 years old — was also discussed as a major opportunity area. Zia said clearer frameworks under DCPR have brought much-needed clarity, though implementation efficiency remains a challenge.

“And overall now, where we are sitting in Mumbai, the development plans, etc. that are falling in place are also much better. Last about four-five years odd years back, we got the UDCPR which is actually giving the view of how do you create real estate anywhere in the state. So, a lot of these initiatives are extremely crucial for sustainability of the sector. The sector itself is cyclical…So, whenever there is a downturn, I guess we are right now reaching the peaks of the cycle. But whenever we are going through the tough time, a proper policy framework is something which comes to rescue of the sector,” he said.

Zia said, “In absence of that there were hundreds and thousands of people like us, the commoners, who bought houses and never get those houses etc. Even today while we have a great policy framework but still we have lot of those people who have put in their money and not getting their house. Supreme Court is sitting on so many cases solving them. So, all that is legacy of ‘jungle raj’ but that was a situation when there was no system, no policy nothing or at least it was fractured. Today, we have a great policy framework that comes in handy to ensure that not just stakeholders the supply side stakeholders but even on the other side the buyers their interests are well taken care of.”

Redevelopment momentum and policy asks

Ashok Mehra, Founder & Chairman, Shikara Constructions, highlighted that Mumbai’s redevelopment cycle, particularly for buildings over 50 years old, is a major opportunity. Mehra said frameworks such as the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) and the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) have brought clarity.

He urged authorities to reinstate the 50 per cent premium discount offered during Covid. “After the DCPR 2034, everything is excellent. I mean now there is a clarity. Clarity is there how to do the redevelopment and all. If you want fast payment from builder, I would request to grant the 50 per cent discount that the concerned authorities gave during COVID, to give it again for one year. If this happens, all stalled projects will be resumed,” he said.

He pointed out that several ageing buildings in Mumbai are financially unviable under current norms. “There are several projects in Mumbai which is not possible under Section 37B and financial not viable. The buildings are more than 50 years old. If the government give the discount, then the redevelopment will reach to another level.”Mehra said.

Consistency critical for planning, pricing in real estate

Pakshal Sanghvi, Managing Director of Sanghvi Realty, stated that a consistent policy is central to project feasibility, especially in redevelopment. “Policy changes don't only impact the project, but it changes the complete feasibility of the project in redevelopment, especially,” he said.

He emphasised that regulatory parameters often dictate design decisions. “I'm an architect myself. When we sit on the boards, we are told to accommodate FSI (Floor Space Index). So, the planning is not on how you would design the building or what more you can offer to the customer…But I think that shouldn't be the approach being an architect. I've worked in London, US. So, what approach is necessary is to have a consistent policy. What happens here is there is a policy now but in 6-8 months, the policy will be impacted by the incoming people or certain changes in the government. So, that really takes a back step as a developer for me,” Sanghvi said.

He also acknowledged improvements with the introduction of cluster development under Section 33(9), he said, it has enabled better planning.

“But the other good thing what I've noticed is since 33(9) or cluster development has come into picture. We've got a bigger parcel to play with. So, there's a better planning, there's a better product, there's a premium on everything which can be offered to the customer. From the pricing point of view, we know the cost. And the other good thing is we know everything beforehand. The fungibles are fixed, the premiums are fixed, the infra cost is fixed. So, all variables are fixed. So you know this is the cost. So now you know what you can sell at market rate. So what we do is, we have the cost we add our margin…and then we sell the project at that price. We don't care what the surrounding price is,” he said.

Sanghvi Realty’s MD added that the era of aggressive pre-launches has largely receded. “The other thing what I've noticed during the launch, now pre-launch sort of things are not really happening right now. So as developers we wait for the approvals we wait for the IOD, we wait for the CC, we wait for the RERA to come in. Then only we go to the launch. So, at that stage the buyers are quite assured of the product…the approvals, the quality or the builder which is going to build the product under what timeline. Of course there's a buffer taken by us developers but there's a clarity on the stages of payment. There's a clarity on stages of construction. So, I think the buyer is quite informed and at that stage when we have the REAR, we are quite confident that we'll get a better result at the launch rather than having a pre-launch,” concluded.

Chaitanya Seth, Partner, EY Parthenon, said recent reforms — RERA, GST and the emergence of REITs — are strengthening sector fundamentals.

“It is slowly and gradually only strengthening the fundamentals. RERA, GST, REIT – all these are become bringing lot of fiscal and operational prudence. So, transparency accountability is increasing so I would say a trust deficit industry is now probably gaining taking small steps to gain trust. So, I think that's a good sign from a demand perspective. That's one,” Seth said.

Looking ahead, he said infrastructure-led urbanisation is expected to shape demand patterns. “Second, from a long-term perspective, it is today you look at the budget, you look at the policies, it's more towards infrastructure. So, infrastructure-led urbanization is going to be the way forward. Today, you look at the corridors, you look at intercity, connections which are which are being happening, rails, metros. So, from a pin code spending from where the developers looking at a pin code kind of a growth, they'll move towards more toward transit and corridor or node-related growth. So, I think that's what's going to kind of define the next level of urban planning,” he said.

However, affordable housing remains a concern for Sethi. He said that while schemes like PMAY gave an initial boost, supply has declined. “In the last 5 years, it has dipped from 38% to nearly 18 to 20%. One of the key reason is the clip levels. If I'm clipping at Rs 45 lakh, it doesn't really check the metro realities,” he stressed.

He further argued that the current threshold may work in cities such as Indore, Surat and Ahmedabad, but not in high-cost metros like Mumbai or Bengaluru. “It has not worked well because it has not looked at the land cost and the construction cost.”

The industry has been lobbying to revise the cap. “And that's what probably we know that the real estate industry lobbying with the government to see that can we move that clip to Rs 75 to 90 lakh or increase that space. I think moment those kind of policy shifts which probably over a period of time happens, it will again put a lot of supply and demand acceleration into the affordable housing space. So, I think to me if you look at it fundamentally urbanisation would be more led by infrastructure and some more probably relooking at the policies or strengthening those policies what we kind of put in the past I think can reshape the entire urban landscape,” he concluded.

ETNow.in Realty Conclave & Awards 2026

The ETNow.in Realty Conclave & Awards 2026 – West Edition recognises outstanding achievements in real estate, from infrastructure development to lifestyle innovations, highlighting how visionary leadership can drive economic growth and urban progress.

Key Speakers And Insights

The West Edition will feature influential voices from across the industry. Rahul Narwekar, Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, will be the Chief Guest. The conclave will also include engaging panel discussions and fireside chats with leaders like Manan Shah, MD, MICL Group; Rajat Rastogi, CEO - West Region & Commercial Assets Pan India, Puravankara Limited; Ar. Shantanoo Vishwanath Rane, Chairman, Roswalt Realty; Ghulam Zia, Senior Executive Director, Knight Frank, and many more. These sessions will explore emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping Western India’s real estate landscape.