Exciting yet challenging time for real estate industry

IN A first, Eastern Eye marked the outstanding contribution made by the Asian community in the real estate industry at the Eastern Eye Property Awards in London last week.

By recognising excellence, best practice and creativity, the awards brought to prominence the impact and vision of this diverse ethnic group. The event honoured all major stakeholders who excelled in their respective fields, by recognising the hard work and dedication of these individuals and their teams.

I am certain these awards will inspire others to push the boundaries of what is deemed possible and set new standards for industry professionals to emulate.

Such events in future will create invaluable networking opportunities for industry professionals to collaborate and share ideas. Real estate is a humandriven industry and by bringing together all stakeholders, the awards ceremony will foster new relationships and forge fresh partnerships to propel the industry forward.

It is well recorded in the UK that there are barriers to entry (both perceived and actual). Yet, over the past two decades, globalisation of the financial markets, regulatory interventions and the impact of media and technology have enabled people with different skills and backgrounds to operate successfully in either their local or overseas markets.

One of the historical examples of this were architects who designed buildings overseas. A natural extension was the wider real estate industry, including contractors, engineers, planners, surveyors and other specialists who helped clients realise their real-estate aspirations.

In parallel, the liberalisation of the Indian economy in the early 1990s and changes to foreign direct investment (FDI) rules in 2005 made it possible for overseas occupiers and investors to participate in the Indian property markets. Overseas professional advisors followed.

Rohin Raja Shah

Today, India has a thriving real estate industry and since the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act was passed in 2016, property transactions have become safer and more transparent. The significant investment by the government of India in financial, digital and transport infrastructure over the past decade and, as forecast in the next decade, will aid the markets and the real-estate industry to prosper. Urbanisation, rising incomes and improved access to education will underpin this remarkable economy.

I have been working for 38 years in the UK and India real-estate markets and, without a doubt, this is the most exciting, yet challenging time. Unlimited access to data, skills and knowledge has opened up possibilities that only five years ago were not imagined. The role of the experienced adviser will be ever more important to navigate the future, especially against a backdrop of environmental uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and an all-accepting new generation.

The change we witness in the next five years will create both risks and opportunities on a scale not previously seen.

(Rohin Raja Shah is the founder of Marylebone Asset Management, a London-based independent investment and asset management business with a key client base of 40 family offices.

He qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1989 having graduated in 1986 from Reading University with a first class bachelor’s degree in land management and thereafter a master’s degree in property investment from City University.

In 2011, Shah was appointed an eminent Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Shah and his partner Anuj Puri have been working together in India since 1994. In 2017 they founded ANAROCK, the leading independent real-estate services company with a team of 2,200 experienced real-estate professionals who operate across all major markets in India and the Middle East.

ANAROCK has developed a proprietary technology platform that is adopted across all its businesses.)