“For starters, this is definitely a major economic reform undertaken by the Narendra Modi government. I don’t think anyone doubts that it will impact the economy positively. Like all things in the Indian economy, there is a proviso: it must be implemented properly and managed well. These two happening, GST has the potential to add at least one per cent to India's GDP growth,” said Niranjan Hiranandani, Founder and First President of NAREDCO Maharashtra.

For the home seeker, the expected positives depend on a key factor: the GST rate applicable on purchase of residential units. “If the GST rate will be ‘moderate’, and the transactions get covered under the ‘lower rate schedules’, it will result in positive scenario for home buyers,” he said, adding that the model GST law does provide an indication that the home buyer in general could benefit from the introduction of GST – subject, of course, to the proviso that the GST rates are moderate.

It would be only applicable to under-construction property and the overall cost of construction might increase for buyers if the rate is higher than current applicable Service Tax rate, which is 15 per cent,” he added.

“While we hope to see the positive impact being felt by the real estate sector, the devil is in the detail – we have some details about different aspects, some aspects are not very clear,” said Niranjan Hiranandani. Even though one would hope things will improve, as of today, it is a little premature to conclude that GST will give the real estate sector a boost.