Realty stocks hog the limelight; surge up to 9%

Shares of realty and housing finance companies made smart gains by surging up to 9 per cent today, after the much-awaited Real Estate Act came into force from yesterday, although only 13 states and UTs have so far notified rules.
From the realty pack, Godrej Properties surged 8.86 per cent, Sobha Ltd gained 6.48 per cent, Indiabulls Real Estate soared 3.74 per cent, Prestige Estates (2.33 per cent) and DLF (1.80 per cent) on BSE.
Led by gains in these stocks, the BSE realty index rose by 1.99 per cent to end at 1,962.13.
Shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance jumped 5.45 per cent, LIC Housing Finance gained 5.53 per cent and HDFC went up by 2.99 per cent.

"Implementation of RERA will bring financial discipline, transparency, accountability and compliance in the sector. It will improve perception of all stakeholders in the sector. It will lead to improved project efficiency and delivery.
"This, in turn, will lead to attract higher investment and PE funding for the projects. Buyers can expect protection against delay and fraudulent practices and transparency in sales based on carpet area," said Ajay Jain, Executive Director - Investment Banking & Head, Real Estate Group, Centrum Capital Ltd.
The Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, which seeks to protect home buyers from unscrupulous developers, came into effect from yesterday.