76% Indians consider real estate best investment option: Survey

NoBroker.com, India’s first Proptech unicorn that is 100 percent brokerage-free, has released ‘India Real Estate Report 2021’ for the fifth consecutive year. The insights are based on a survey conducted with over 21000 customers across Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad, as well as the data captured from more than 16 million users on its platform.

The company which is a brokerage-free property portal saved Rs 2874 crore in brokerage in 2021 across all the cities where it is present. Bangalore saved maximum (Rs 787 crore) for the third year in a row, followed by Mumbai (Rs 653 crore), Chennai (Rs 497 cr), Pune (Rs 424 crore), Hyderabad (Rs 264 crore) and Delhi-NCR (Rs 250 crore).

The most interesting trend that was observed was that property emerged as the most popular investment option for 76 percent of people. It indicates the increasing sense of security that comes from buying a house. SIPs/stocks and gold were very distant second and third. Bitcoin was selected by a very tiny percentage.

The thought was echoed in survey with sellers where 43 percent of them suggested that they were looking to purchase another property for investment purpose in 2022. These findings along with the fact that 84 percent of people believing that right now is the best time to buy a property for end use, suggest that the market is very buoyant right now. The findings are sync with the continued WFH culture and hybrid work setup, discounts offered by builders and historic low home loan rates.

Due to partial lockdowns and restricted movements buyers have had an opportunity to save money, which would otherwise be spent on vacations and other lifestyle choices. This coupled with the need of owning a house translated into bigger buying budgets. 15 percent of people were thus looking to buy a house over Rs 1 crore (4 percent higher than 2020 and 8 percent higher than 2019).

The demand for 3 BHKs has also ramped up to 33 percent compared to 29 percent last year. 2 BHKs continue to be the most in demand unit size opted by 37 percent of people. However, some percentage of their popularity is distributed into 3 and 4 BHK units.

As offices had started reopening towards the last quarter of 2021, there’s been a monumental shift for staying close to workplace. 80 percent of tenants this year prefer to stay close to their workplace while 78 percent of buyers are looking to purchase a house within the city. In 2020’s report, distance from workplace had slid down many notches in the priority list for tenants.

Ready-to-move-in properties continued to be preferred by 78 percentof buyers. Delayed constructions and possessions are the greatest drivers of this trend. It was also observed that 73 percent of people consider Vaastu a relevant factor for buying a house. 55 percent of tenants also check Vaastu.

The report also highlighted a steady decline in broker services over the years with only 13 percent of people still relying on it. The option for brokerage-free properties is the biggest factor for tenants to choose website over other alternatives. The pandemic has further accelerated the pace of digital adoption across the industry.

As the world becomes more digital, the concept of video walkthroughs - that gained tremendous traction during 2020 - will stay relevant in the coming years as well. This solution has been a better alternative to shortlist or even rent properties as it gives better idea of size, dimensions and layout over still images. 77 percent of tenants in 2021 believe that video tours significantly help people to view properties.

Saurabh Garg, Co-Founder and CBO – Nobroker.com said, “Bigger houses in demand and bigger buying budgets along with a preference for buying within the city limits indicate a positive environment for the real estate sector in 2022. 2021 has been a happening year with lots of positive changes and innovations across the real estate market. While the demand for ready-to-move-in properties remained relevant, video tours gained significant traction. Likewise, homeownership for end use will continue to be a valued asset owing to the historically-low interest rates of home loans and the security that residential properties offer. Although, for the foreseeable future, real estate will be an end users’ market, it is relieving to know that the investors’ confidence is also returning. The pandemic has also ironically paved way for technological intervention.”

53 percent of landlords reduced or waived off rent during the pandemic with maximum numbers coming from Delhi-NCR and Pune (58 percent each). However, 46 percent of them have increased their rent post-Diwali, indicating a rent inflation across cities.

Published on: Tuesday, January 18, 2022, 06:26 PM IST