The real estate sector of the country has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic as construction works remained totally off and almost no flat is being sold at this time of countrywide lockdown. Real estate industry had started doing good business after a five-year depression in this sector. But the ongoing coronavirus outbreak has pushed the sector back to the previous depressed situation, people involved in this industry opined.
From 2013 to 2018, this industry incurred huge loss as sale of flats decreased remarkably. The situation improved in 2019 following various government initiatives for this sector, according to real estate insiders. Entrepreneurs in this sector fear that they will have to count huge loss which only can be estimated once the virus impact is over.
Alamgir Shamsul Alamin, President of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB), told journalists that, “The situation is really bad and it cannot be compared to any situation in the past. All construction works have been stopped. No one knows when the situation will become normal”.
REHAB is now demanding to include the real estate sector to the incentive package announced by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to face the coronavirus impact. It also raised a good number of demands to face the critical time. There is also growing concern about tight lending conditions of bank loans. In this situation, REHAB leaders demanded to wave their bank loan interest till December of this year. Supply of raw materials for construction works is also being interrupted heavily workers stay their homes due to business shutdowns, quarantines and lockdowns.
According to REHAB, 35 lakh people are engaged with the industry where a good number of linkage industries are also associated here. If the housing industry gets affected seriously, there will have a serious impact on its linkage industries. This will have a negative impact on the economy in the long run.
REHAB President said, “We congratulate our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for announcing such an incentive package. It made us hopeful too. We think the incentive package will cover the real estate sector too.”
