The shovel returns

Housing down-cycle shaved more than 1 per cent from growth annually for nearly a decade; it is turning now

India needs to build one crore new houses every year. The country’s population will keep growing for at least the next two decades, with a 1 per cent annual growth over the next five years. The number of households should rise faster at 2.5 per cent, as they shrink in size. India also has fewer houses than households (in comparison, China has 20 per cent more houses than households; and the US 10 per cent more), and still has “mixed-use” dwellings, like a shopkeeper’s family sleeping in the shop at night. These should change with growing income and wealth. 

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