Top 4 reasons why affordable housing is important?
Affordable housing is housing that is provided to the people at affordable prices. Every individual needs a house to stay. But due to the migration of the people in urban cities and higher prices, many people cannot afford to buy their own houses. Thus affordable housing means houses that cost less than Rs.65 lakh are considered affordable housing in Metros, and flats costing less than Rs.45 lakh are considered affordable housing in tier II and tier III cities. In case of purchase of the flats, the buyer should have at least 20% of the property value in savings to pay as a down-payment. The bank approves 80% of the property value as a loan for which the applicant should have the appropriate salary to repay the home loans. There are governments housing schemes also available for the purchase of the house. Every state government sets up the housing development board for providing affordable housing to the people belonging to the economically weaker sections of the society, lower-income groups & middle-income groups. In most metro cities, the property prices are so high that people aren’t able to buy flats from private real estate developers. Thus buying houses in government schemes is beneficial.
The loans can be taken from any particular bank or NBFC of the individual’s choice. The loans are available under the PMAY housing scheme for the people to avail the benefit of up to Rs.2.67 lakh for availing loans on interest payments. The PMAY scheme aims to provide housing for all by 2022 for the people who do not own any of the houses across India. This scheme aims at providing subsidies to home buyers on loans for the people who are staying in the urban regions. The government has focused on the top 500 cities across India to extend the subsidy to purchase the flats. Many people from the lower strata of the society cannot afford to buy houses; thus, the budget homes project helps people avail themselves of flats of smaller sizes as affordable housing. There is also a concept of Nano homes being developed by the private real estate developers, which aims at providing smaller houses like studio apartments to the public. Such houses are smaller in size, admeasuring 210 sq. ft carpet area with hall, kitchen & bathroom space.
Benefits of Affordable Housing
· Housing needs for people with low-income groups
People from the strata of the society or the ones who have lower income are the ones who are able to buy only smaller homes in the cities, especially in metros. Thus the low-cost housing scheme is beneficial for those people. Some private real estate developers also provide the houses at a lower cost which are constructed as studio apartments. At the same time, there are also government schemes for the purchase of houses at low-cost housing schemes.
· To combat the challenges of urbanization
In urban regions, migration is high amongst the public, and thus, many people face the problem of buying their shelter. Also, some people of lower-income are forced to stay in slum areas or else chawls. Thus affordable housing flats are necessary for the people to stay in proper apartments with proper hygiene.
· To improve the overall health of the citizens
The houses built under the real estate developer as an apartment scheme have proper amenities like bathrooms, toilets, clean potable drinking water & an underground sever system. Thus these basic facilities always matter in case of any of the housing schemes. Due to unaffordability, people who cannot buy apartments are forced to stay in slum localities that lack basic hygiene. Thus the construction of apartments is necessary.
· To create job opportunities
The affordable housing segment is highly in demand, and the flats get booked very easily. Thus the opportunities are created for the workers, supervisors & structural consultants & architects. Thus there are plenty more opportunities being created due to the increase in demand for housing. Also, the home finance sector creates plenty of opportunities for the finance sector employees as these sections of people are completely dependent on the disbursement of home loans.
Affordable housing is a top priority in urban regions, and real estate developers should also look positively to develop affordable housing to capture the vast potential markets. Affordable housing gives a boost to the real estate sector and also the home finance sector. Affordable housing helps eradicate the slums and thus helps maintain hygiene in the cities with proper cleanliness and hygiene.
