“More than three hundred small industries rely heavily on the real estate sector thereby making it one of the biggest beneficiaries of foreign direct investment. However, they have been unable to take advantage of the perks offered by financial institutions such as cheaper interest rates and seamless approval procedures. Since capital cost is the biggest hurdle for developers, an industry status will facilitate the real estate players to obtain lower-interest loans, equity investment in the industry, and easy refinancing of the projects, enabling larger investors to be the financing partners. Since the lower financing cost will reduce the project cost, the real estate developer will be better equipped to pass on the benefit to homebuyers. Overall, an industry status will improve the sectoral health and make homebuying more affordable for the end-users.” – SAMREEN PALOBA, ASSOCIATE PARTNER