CREDAI pushes infrastructure-first model as India's real estate market targets $1 trillion by 2030
CREDAI has called for an infrastructure-first approach to urban development, with roads, drainage and civic services planned before large-scale real estate expansion. A report released at NATCON 2026 estimates India's real estate market could reach $1 trillion by 2030 and $5.8 trillion by 2047.
NEW DELHI: Infrastructure should precede large-scale real estate development in Indian cities, with urban planning increasingly requiring roads, drainage, transport and other civic systems to be put in place before new housing and commercial growth, Shekhar G. Patel, president of CREDAI, said at the 24th edition of NATCON in Kolkata.
A report released by CREDAI in association with Anarock Research & Advisory at the convention estimated that India's real estate market increased from about US$120 billion in 2017 to nearly US$600 billion in 2025 and could reach US$1 trillion by 2030 and around US$5.8 trillion by 2047. The value of real estate under construction increased from about US$94 billion in 2009 to US$503 billion in 2025, while the sector's contribution to GDP is projected to rise from 6 per cent in 2017 to approximately 13 per cent by 2030. Employment in the sector is expected to reach 30 million by 2030, according to the report. Residential sales value across the top seven cities increased from ₹2.35 lakh crore in FY22 to ₹6.10 lakh crore in FY26, while quarterly sales value has remained above ₹1.3 lakh crore for seven consecutive quarters.
Patel said future urban expansion should increasingly follow an 'infrastructure-first' model rather than infrastructure being added after housing and other development have already taken place. India currently has around 55 crore people living in urban areas, he said, adding that the urban population could approach 100 crore by 2047 as the country moves towards an urbanisation level of around 60 per cent. 'We don't need more land for urban areas. We just have to plan the land which we have already notified as urban land,' Patel said. He added that cities need to move away from a development model where housing comes first and roads, drainage and other infrastructure follow later. 'Infrastructure first should be the first rule,' he said, pointing to initiatives in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Patel also said redevelopment would increasingly become relevant across Indian cities as buildings constructed several decades ago reach the stage where rebuilding becomes necessary. 'Every city will have to have a redevelopment law and every city will go through redevelopment,' he said. Ahmedabad alone currently has more than 50 redevelopment projects, he said, adding that cities including Chennai and Hyderabad will face similar requirements as their older housing stock ages.
Boman Irani, chairman of CREDAI, said the interaction between governments, developers and residents in redevelopment projects has evolved as the sector has matured. He pointed to Mumbai, where infrastructure expansion and redevelopment are taking place simultaneously, and said other cities could draw lessons from the model while adapting it to local conditions. 'Every city should follow the Mumbai model. We went through our learning curve,' Irani said. He said the city's expanding road, metro, airport, sewage-treatment and waste-management infrastructure would play an important role in supporting higher levels of development and redevelopment. Irani also said organised developers could benefit from greater standardisation and transparency in the way redevelopment projects are awarded.
Sushil Mohta, president of CREDAI West Bengal, said construction activity at projects that were subjected to structural scrutiny by Kolkata Municipal Corporation has resumed. 'None of the CREDAI members' projects is stuck. None of the CREDAI members' projects has been found to be violating,' Mohta said, adding that the projects had started work again around three weeks ago. The scrutiny was initiated earlier this year for nearly 600 projects in Kolkata following a civic review of buildings above four floors. In August, CREDAI West Bengal had said around 330 projects, or roughly 60 per cent of those under scrutiny, had cleared the technical review stage and were awaiting further clearance. Mohta said the exercise had also provided developers greater confidence after projects were reviewed by universities and technical agencies.
CREDAI leaders also highlighted the increasing use of artificial intelligence in sales, marketing, planning, construction monitoring, customer engagement and business decision-making. Patel said technology adoption would need to translate into better productivity, transparency and project delivery rather than being treated only as a new digital layer. Irani said AI could create significant opportunities for Indian businesses and argued that human innovation would determine how effectively the technology is deployed.
