Real estate shares in focus; Godrej Properties hits record high

Shares of real estate companies were in focus with Nifty Realty index gaining more than 2 per cent on Thursday, on improved outlook especially for developers with large focus on commercial real estate.

Godrej Properties, Prestige Estates, Oberoi Realty, Indiabulls Real Estate and Sunteck Realty were up 2 per cent to 6 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

At 11:21 am, the Nifty Realty index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 2 per cent at 284, as compared to a 0.39 per cent rise in the benchmark Nifty 50 index. The realty index was trading close to its 52-week high of 292 touched on June 4, 2019 in intra-day deal.

Godrej Properties hit an all-time high of Rs 1,005, up 5 per cent on the NSE. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,004 recorded on Tuesday, before qualified institutional placement (QIP) launched.

The real estate arm of Godrej Group proposed to use the funds to invest in its subsidiaries and joint ventures to meet the funding requirements for existing and new development projects and debt repayment. The company has set a floor price of Rs 928 for the share sale.

Earlier, in March 2019, DLF had raised around Rs 3,200 crore through a QIP.

The real estate players exercising financial discipline and having access to customers are outshining others with an all-round performance. Moreover, it is comforting to see the country’s real estate sector paving way for greater institutionalization and entry of some of large corporate houses, analysts at Motilal Oswal Securities said.

“We believe that listed players with a good operational track record will be the key beneficiaries over the medium to long term, as the structural reforms-led consolidation is likely to continue, with larger players gaining a significant market share at the cost of small and large developers with poor balance sheets and funding constraints and affordable housing will continue gaining traction on government grants and subsidies,” the brokerage firm said in real estate sector update.