Building Riches in 2020

When it comes to building assets, especially in India, real estate attracts a large section of investors. The reason is that, unlike a financial asset, it is something investors can see, touch and feel. That is why almost three-fourth of Indian household wealth is parked in real estate and only a small fraction in financial assets. “The average household holds 77 per cent of its total assets in real estate (which includes residential buildings, buildings for farm and non-farm activities, constructions such as recreational facilities, and rural and urban land) compared to 5 per cent in financial assets (such as deposits/savings accounts, publicly traded shares, mutual funds, life insurance and retirement accounts),” says a 2017 report by the Reserve Bank of India titled “Indian Household Finance Survey.”

However, in the last few years, returns, especially from the residential segment, have been muted or even fallen. Many have even predicted the end of real estate as an investment, a view that gained further currency after the outbreak of Covid-19. However, as life slowly moves towards normalcy, there are enough