1-    Mr.  Firdose Vandrevala, Chairman, CII National Committee on Real Estate & Housing and Chairman & Managing Director HIRCO Developments said “Construction business is the second largest employer in the nation after agriculture. It accounts for 10% of the nations GDP. Yet it has not been accorded industry status thus keeping benefits from financial institution sides, lower interest rates and easy approval processes away from us. We need to organise, talk in one voice and drive towards the common goal of growth of the industry and the nation if we have to reach our potential,”

2-     Mr. Anuj Puri, Chairman & Chairman and Country Head Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said, “2011 was a landmark year with record construction and leasing out of spaces in both retail and office space and growth in the residential space. Absorption rate was strong and upward swing was in process. With the economic downturn 2012 became a sort of reality check and supply has been going up, but absorption has come down. The scenario is less predictable and there is a great challenge. This challenge however is also an opportunity.”

3-     Mr Unmesh Sharma, Associate Director – Real Estate & Telecom Research Macquarie Capital Securities (I) Pvt. Ltd., said, “Real estate is losing steam not entirely because of the economic downside. The frustration is really with the slow pace of reform from the government side that is causing investor fatigue. There is very little movement from the government. From the investor’s perspective when the European Union is undergoing problems, India should have emerged as the alternate destination but it has not. The problems are in multiple fronts. Yet, that does not mean that the right opportunities cannot come through. Government policies have to be in tune to encourage the sector and inspire investment.”

If one were to analyze the past three years for real estate developments in India, we can safely say that the industry has come full circle. From the lows of 2009, to an upturn of trends in 2010 and an almost stable 2011, we are now amidst a cautious 2012, all through emerging wiser and learned.

Stepping into 2012 will not be a challenge for the industry provided a vigilant stance is adopted. The three keywords to decision making will be Conservation, Consolidation and Growth.

Conservation – for safeguarding what has been acquired and built till date;

Consolidation – for focusing on the core, en-cashing on synergies and bringing in efficiencies

Growth – for achieving better results through informed decision making

But given the unpredictable turn of events, is it easier said than done? The question remains on how easily can each one of these strategies be adopted. For an occupier who had just started planning his expansion in the region, will consolidation be the right move? For a developer who is already facing a liquidity crunch, will a conservative approach to new projects work, with a long term perspective? For an investor, will putting more money on the block define the way forward, or will it be wait and watch?