Digital Real Estate| Union Budget 2026: What real estate leaders want to see

As expectations build ahead of Union Budget 2026, stakeholders across India’s real estate ecosystem are calling for policy measures that balance demand revival, infrastructure-led growth, and long-term institutionalisation of the sector.

Industry leaders believe that targeted incentives for homebuyers, stronger support for developers, and a renewed push for infrastructure and urban planning could help sustain momentum amid emerging challenges.

Focus on Demand, Infrastructure, and Institutional Capital

According to Ankur Jalan, CEO of Golden Growth Fund (GGF), expectations from the Budget centre on addressing both demand-side constraints and investment flows, especially in established urban markets such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.


Jalan says the industry is looking for an extension of tax incentives for homebuyers, alongside continued emphasis on infrastructure investment—particularly urban transport, last-mile connectivity, and sustainable utilities—to enhance long-term asset value and city attractiveness.

He also highlights the need for policies that encourage greater institutional participation in real estate. Enhanced incentives for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), he notes, could help streamline investments and make the sector more institutionalised and regulated. “A balanced, growth-oriented Budget will not only support project execution but also drive confidence among homebuyers and investors alike and boost the Indian economy,” Jalan adds.

Infrastructure-Led Urban Development in Emerging Hubs

Echoing the importance of infrastructure, Lalit Parihar, Managing Director of Aaiji Group, expects the Union Budget 2026 to further strengthen infrastructure-led urban development.

He points to sustained investments in roads, logistics, airports, bullet trains, industrial corridors, and smart city infrastructure as critical to unlocking the potential of emerging regions such as Dholera as future economic hubs.

Parihar also hopes for renewed policy focus on Special Economic Zones (SEZs), including greater flexibility and fiscal incentives for developers to accelerate industrial and mixed-use developments. On the housing front, he advocates measures to improve affordability—such as rationalisation of GST, extension of tax benefits for homebuyers, and easier access to institutional finance for developers.

Incentives for green and sustainable construction, faster approvals, and reduced compliance burdens, he says, would further improve project viability.

Overall, Parihar believes a Budget that combines fiscal discipline with long-term urban planning can sustain real estate growth and boost investor confidence, particularly across strategically important regions of Gujarat.

Addressing the Affordable Housing Supply Gap

Meanwhile, Vijay Harsh Jha, Founder and CEO of VS Realtors, flags early signs of a slowdown in residential sales volumes, pointing to a structural supply gap—especially in homes priced below ₹1 crore, where demand remains strong.

Jha stresses that timely government intervention is essential to bridge this mismatch. Measures such as tax breaks, access to affordable land for developers, and supportive housing policies could help align supply with actual demand.

He also underlines the importance of continuing housing loan incentives and tax benefits for homebuyers, which have been instrumental in driving robust volume growth over the past three years.

While the sector has seen exceptional growth in value terms due to premiumisation, Jha cautions that this trend may not be sustainable in the long run amid job losses in the tech sector, moderating income growth, and rising geo-economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Although office real estate continues to show strong momentum, residential volumes are lagging, reinforcing the need for a more balanced and inclusive growth strategy.

The Big Picture

Taken together, these perspectives suggest that the Union Budget 2026 could play a pivotal role in shaping the next phase of India’s real estate cycle.

With the right mix of demand-side incentives, infrastructure investment, institutional capital support, and affordability-focused policies, the Budget has the potential to restore balance, strengthen confidence, and lay the foundation for sustainable, broad-based growth across both mature cities and emerging urban corridors.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)