The investment by private equity in realty business fell from $7 billion in 2008 to $1.3 billion in 2009 before slowly rising again.

Even though demonetisation and GST affected the investment made into the real estate similar to other business in the economy, private equity (PE) funds invested $7.1 billion in the sector in 2017, the most in the last decade. The funds invested mainly into commercial real estate, which, unlike the residential part of the sector, has been performing well, The Indian Express reported citing data by market research firm Venture Intelligence.

The investment by private equity in realty business fell from $7 billion in 2008 to $1.3 billion in 2009 before slowly rising again. In the running year, the investment has been $5.1 billion as of end of November, the data showed.

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“………Because of the leasing that is happening in the commercial space, the overall sentiments are pretty strong. This is why more and more investors are picking up stakes in completed and leased out assets,” The Indian Express reported citing Abhinav Joshi, head of research at the India operations of CBRE.

The PE investors have mainly invested into the completed and less risky assets, Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock Property Consultants told The Indian Express. These investors have cherry-picked assets offering a return of 8-9 percent per annum, he added.

The investment by PE investors into commercial real estate has gone beyond the metros and tier-I towns, Abhinav Joshi also said.

On 8 November 2016, the Modi government announced the demonetisation of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series. It also announced the issuance of new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 banknotes in exchange for the demonetised banknotes.The government claimed that the action would curtail the shadow economy and reduce the use of illicit and counterfeit cash to fund illegal activity and terrorism.