Kerala has been counted to contribute about one-third in the Rs 11,613-crore extra spurt of NRI remittances to India in 2015, according to World Bank’s latest report. The real estate sector in Kerala is ears perked at the Rs 3,500-crore extra remittances and the potential that it could afford to the brick-and-mortar business.

NRI remittances to the state, preponderantly from Gulf, have already crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in March 2015, soaring up 17% from the same period in March 2015.  The state’s NRI deposits in public sector banks total Rs 64,700 crore, compared to Rs 44,900 crore in the private sector banks. Kerala Realtors Association (KRA) president Abjo Joy said: “The pre-launch functions of Kochi-based projects are rolled out in the Middle-East.”

It has been at this juncture that the realtors saw the opportunity window from Gulf expat remittances opening wider. ” When the Gulf remittances are higher, ideally , the state government should be able to usher the money into infrastructure bonds, with tempting interest rates, so that the expat send-homes can be leveraged to the state’s sorely needed infrastructure needs,” says Dr Mary George, public policy expert. But, for all the wistful thinking from policymakers, the average Kerala NRI’s propensity to pour its remittances in conspicuous consumption of white goods, gold and real estate has been higher than his propensity to invest in infrastructural bonds.

Moreover, the builders in the state have reportedly been irked by the strict regulatory framework. Kerala is the second state after Maharashtra to set up a Real Estate Regulatory body for construction, sale and maintenance of residential apartments, commercial complexes, office structures and IT/ITES. As per the norms, developers will have to register their projects with the authority before going for the advertisements and seeking investors or customers. In addition, only property below 25 cents in area would be exempted. “Regulations are necessary, but too many are likely to be a dampener for the real estate business,” says SN Raghuchandran Nair, Kerala head of  CREDAI ( Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India).

A study by Assocham says that Kerala notched the highest CAGR ( compounded annual growth rate) in attracting real estate investments in the 10-year period 2005 to 2015. This surge was while the corresponding CAGR in Haryana, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh dropped by 5%, 4% and 3% respectively.

With the number of real estate players is growing in the state, realty players use social media to tap net-savvy NRIs. As competition heats up, it is no coincidence that the real estate seller gives the once over to the new ferment in Kerala’s NRI kitty. There is already a tidy savings in the NRI pockets from the last year. From Rs 97,466 crore in  September 2014 to Rs 1,17,247 crore in June 2015, the NRI deposits in Kerala banks had surged by Rs 19,883 crore.

The forecast of Rs 3,500 crore extra remittances in the coming days would only add  to the happy hunting grounds for the builders.