News: 62% say it will be expedient to buy a house right away: Survey-17-02-2021
Synopsis
Property as an investment is also gaining popularity as around 57% respondents now favour property over xed deposits, the stock market, and gold. The pandemic has effectively convinced more prospective homebuyers after riding the fence of uncertainty for a long time prior to Covid-19.
BENGALURU: Amidst deals, discounts and cheaper home loans, an increasing number of homebuyers are considering it advantageous to buy houses right away. Real estate’s perception as an investment asset class has also increased distinctively post the outbreak of Covid19 pandemic. Nearly 62% respondents, in a sentiment survey conducted jointly by the CII and Anarock Property Consultants, believe it is expedient to buy homes now. While 24% respondents have already booked properties--81% of this segment were previously unsure of buying--and 38% have opted for newly-launched projects, said CII-Anarock joint survey. “The survey underscores the massive impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on home-buying decisions. The work-from-home and online education culture has resulted in buyers seeking larger homes, even if it entails moving to peripheral areas. Surprisingly, new launches are gaining traction post-COVID. 26% of the survey's respondents will opt for homes in newly-launched projects, which is an increase of 4% over the pre-COVID period,” said Anuj Puri Chairman ANAROCK Property Consultants. Property as an investment is also gaining popularity as around 57% respondents now favour property over xed deposits, the stock market, and gold. The pandemic has eectively convinced more prospective homebuyers after riding the fence of uncertainty for a long time prior to Covid-19, the survey mentioned
Buyers are also in the market for larger size homes with 43% respondents now showing preference towards living in peripheral areas while just 28% favour homes in the city limits in proximity to oices. However, there was a decrease in the preference for ready-to-move-in homes – a reduction of at least 17% since the lockdowns and 6% since the pre-COVID levels. “The comeback in the residential sector has been sharply driven by the current favourable environment for consumers to buy a home. The real estate segment achieved the highest presales in a quarter of 1.53 mn sq ft in Q3 FY21.Brigade will go into the next quarter with a strong pipeline of ongoing projects at 15.96 mn sq ft and upcoming projects of 2.62 mn sq ft,” said M.R. Jaishankar, Brigade Enterprises. The popularity of bigger congurations - 3BHK and 4BHK - has also increased as compared to the pre-COVID survey, most notably among NRIs. According to the survey, most NRIs now prefer luxury homes priced between Rs 90 Lakh to Rs 2.5 cr. Given the recovery in demand witnessed till date residential sales and new launches are expected to recover to pre-Covid levels within FY2022, primarily driven by a gradual unlocking of the economy, pent-up demand, and improved aordability on the back of reduced home loan rates and attractive payment schemes/discounts. Sustainability of the recent uptrend, however, remains to be seen, as sales are likely to settle at more sedate levels post the festive season.
