If you have Rs2 lakh to
invest, your bank may roll out a red carpet, your stock broker may inundate you
with hot tips and the neighbourhood jeweller may even offer a discount on
making charges. However, you will probably get laughed out of the estate
agent's office.
Not anymore. With Sebi issuing final guidelines
for real estate investment trusts (REITs), you will soon be able to get a piece
of the action in the property market with as little as `2 lakh.
REITs are just like mutual funds, but instead of
using the money collected from investors to buy stocks and bonds, they invest
in property.
Last month, the Union Budget removed an
important hurdle by giving pass-through taxation status to REITs. Last
fortnight, Sebi issued the guidelines, settling several of the concerns raised
by the real estate industry. The launch of REITs will increase the flow of
funds to the cashstarved real estate industry. "Even if half of the
currently available Grade A office space gets converted to REIT and is listed
in the next 2-3 years, it can mean an inflow of `60,000-72,000 crore,"
says Anuj Puri, chairman and country head, JLL India.
High entry
barrier
Whether you invest in a residential property or
commercial space in a metro or tier I city, the minimum investment is normally
upwards of `30-40 lakh. Sebi's guidelines for REITs have pegged the minimum
investment at `2 lakh, which will allow retail investors to participate in the
real estate market. In the secondary market, the minimum holding could be even
lower at `1 lakh. "REITs will allow even middle income individuals to
invest in real estate. Without this, they can't participate because of the huge
entry barrier," says Keki Mistry, vice-chairman and CEO, HDFC. The low
ticket size means that investors can diversify their portfolios by including
real estate without investing huge amounts in the asset class. The high entry
barrier is not the only problem with investments in real estate.
With no real estate regulator in place,
individual investors are at the mercy of politically connected builders in
India. If, however, they invest in a REIT, they will be able to join hands and
get bargaining power against the developers.
The other benefit is diversification. When one
invests in a real estate project, the returns are dependent on how well that
project is received in the market and the rental income it is able to command.
On the other hand, REITs invest in several projects and, therefore, provide the
benefit of diversification to the investor. With a low entry barrier of `1 lakh
in the secondary market when units are listed, an investor can spread his
investment across 3-4 REITs launched by different asset managers. The liquidity
offered by REITs is another positive feature of this mode. While selling a
property can take weeks, even months, REITs will inject liquidity into the
investment by listing the units on the stock exchanges. The day is not far when
one will be able to buy and sell property at the click of the mouse.
How attractive
is the investment?
While Sebi has given the go-ahead to REITs,
right now they can invest only in commercial real estate. This narrows the
scope considerably because most of the action in the sector is in residential
real estate. Even in commercial projects, 80% of the investment must be in
rent-earning projects. The balance 20% can be in other assets, including
projects under construction (restricted to 10% of the total REIT assets),
listed or unlisted debt of real estate companies, equity shares of real estate
companies having 75% income from realty activities, government securities and
money market instruments.
Though some may see this as an unnecessary
restriction, the straitjacket of rental yielding projects is actually a
blessing in disguise. First, there is major difference between rental yield
from commercial and residential properties in India now. "While rental
yield on commercial property is slightly lower than the interest rate, the one
on residential property is very low. So REITs will not work in the residential
market now," says Mistry . If rental yield from commercial projects is
less than the prevailing interest rate, why should one consider investing in
REITs? "The rental yield is not very attractive now, but is expected to
rise in the future," says Ujwala Rao, national director, capital markets,
JLL.Besides, there is always the possibility of capital appreciation that will
push up the NAV .
Bottom of the cycle
Bottom of the cycle Still, there are several
factors that investors need to keep in mind. As of now, the commercial real
estate market is in doldrums. "In several pockets, the price of commercial
real estate is around 30% cheaper compared to residential real estate,"
says Kapoor. Though there is an escalation clause in most commercial real
estate projects, it is a users' market and, therefore, they are able to
renegotiate the rents downwards. This also means that commercial real estate is
reasonably priced right now. There is a greater scope for appreciation. As the
economy picks up momentum and commercial activity increases, things are likely
to improve. "This is the time to get into commercial real estate because
it is at the bottom of the cycle," says Kapoor. Other experts join the
chorus of optimism. "For REIT to work, you need a buoyant real estate
market. Nothing much had been happening in the past 3-4 years, but things have
started picking up now," says Mistry . "Commercial real estate is
linked to economic recovery . Rentals may remain under pressure for the next
12-18 months given the oversupply, but with the speed of supply moderating in
the coming years, the situation should improve," says Mittal.
Taxation of REIT
income
This was the biggest bone of contention for
REITs. The recent budget offered some relief when the finance minister
announced that REITs will be a pass-through vehicle. In the earlier structure,
both the trust as well as the investors had to pay tax. Now, the trust will not
pay tax on income. Only the investor will be taxed when he gets the income or
sells the units. However, experts warn that this pass-through benefit is not
applicable to all types of incomes from the REIT (see table) "The
pass-through benefit is only for interest income earned by the REIT from its
special purpose vehicle (SPV). As of now, there is no pass-through for rent or
other income received by the REIT from property directly held by it," says
Sriram Govind, core member of the international tax team, Nishith Desai
Associates. He says the REIT has to pay corporate tax on such income earned by
the SPV. Similarly, the REIT will also have to pay capital gains tax on sale of
shares of the SPV. There is also no relaxation on the dividend distribution tax
on payouts by the SPV to the REIT," says Govind.
Though the dividend received from SPVs is
taxfree for REIT as well as investors, the SPV would have already paid
corporate tax and dividend distribution tax on such income. Factor this tax
into the calculation of returns from REITs.
Though the dividend distribution tax is a
prickly problem, what more than makes up for it is the treatment of capital
gains from the REIT.
Since there is a securities transaction tax
(STT) on the listed REITs, the long-term capital gains will be tax-free while
short-term capital gains will be taxed at a concessional rate of 15%.
However, you need to hold the REIT units for at
least three years to qualify for long-term capital gains. In addition, the
investor has to pay tax on part of the income received during the period.
"The listed pass-through vehicles are at a tax disadvantage," says
Feroze Azeez, director, Investment Products, Anand Rathi Private Wealth
Management.
Since some of the income from the REIT will be
tax-free and some other will be taxable, the big question is, how will
investors know the difference? "There will be some reporting mechanism and
the break-up will come at the time of income distribution from the REIT,"
says Rao of JLL.
Interestingly, REITs offer a better deal to NRIs
on the tax front. The withholding tax for them is only 5% compared to 10% for
resident Indians.
And the amount received may be tax-free for
them, at least in most countries, while the Indian investors have to pay tax
based on their slab rates. If the NRI has to pay tax on the income in the
country of residence, he can claim this 5% as a rebate. What are the risks?
The biggest risk can come in the form of
developers keeping their prime rent-earning properties and dumping their
not-so-good assets on REITs. Though there will be professional valuers, the
real estate market is notorious for its opacity. It is still a builder's market
and the investors don't have any access to the valuation process. Though the
introduction of REITs is expected to improve the situation, the lack of
transparency and the black money component in the real estate deals is another
possible risk.
Finally, there may be stable regular income, but
the capital appreciation or depreciation depends on the market price of
commercial real estate and, therefore, will be volatile.
Sebi's guidelines for REITs is only the first
step. There are bound to be teething problems when the market starts
functioning. However, this has paved the way for a more vibrant market for real
estate. If you want to invest in real estate but don't have deep pockets, you
can consider REITs as the vehicle that can take you there.
Source: TOI
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