Realtors' body CREDAI has written to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for regulating steel prices that have gone up sharply in last two years leading to a rise in construction cost of real estate projects.
The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), in a letter to the PMO today, has requested the government to intervene in this matter and arrest undue hikes in the prices of steel.
Steel prices have shot upwards from Rs 29,000-32,000 per tonne in 2016 to Rs 51,000-54,000 per tonne, CREDAI said in a statement.
"It is imperative that the government intervenes and regulates prices for the benefit of all stakeholders of real estate, especially consumers, who are having to bear the cascading effects of the increase in costs," CREDAI's President Jaxay Shah said.
The continuous increase in steel prices has led to rise in housing prices, "adversely impacting Housing for All", he added.
"Developers are also grappling with the dire situation of sourcing raw materials leading to obstacles in completion of real estate projects. For the smooth functioning of the real estate ecosystem, the government needs to keep a check on this trend in order to further aid the growth of Indian realty," Shah said.
CREDAI said that the undue hike in prices is a huge deterrent for investment in real estate and its growth. The hike in price has resulted in an additional cost of Rs 90180 per square foot depending on other variants like height, basements etc.