The nationwide lockdown, imposed since March 25 to control coronavirus outbreak, has affected housing demand badly, but sales have not come to a grinding halt and brokerage firms are able to close some transactions digitally with the help of freebies offered by developers.
Home-grown property brokerage firm Anarock on Monday said in a statement that it has sold properties worth Rs 252 crore since lockdown through digital transactions.
"Despite the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown and all on-ground activity halted since March 25, the Anarock group has successfully closed the digital sale of 240 homes worth Rs 214.6 crore and 62 office spaces collectively worth Rs 37 crore," it said in a statement.
Of the total number of housing sales closed post lockdown, at least 49 per cent (approx 117 units) worth over Rs 85 crore were sold in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
"The first 10 days of the lockdown were a struggle to align sales, but Anarock quickly took up the slack and homed in on the emerging opportunity. Many of these sales were in the final leg of the deal and others were open but were all closed virtually," Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said.
Noida-based property broker Investors Clinic, too, said in a statement that it "sold properties worth Rs 400 crore during the lockdown period in the month of March".
During the lockdown, the company has launched a campaign "Walk in Nahi, Log in Karona" for consumers to book homes digitally just by paying Rs 1 lakh.
Separately, brokerage firm 360 Realtors said it has sold more than 112 units during the lockdown having a Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of more than Rs 105 crore through online bookings.
Ankit Kansal, MD, 360 Realtors, said, "The sector is showing resilience as most of the companies are working from home & trying to engage with customers through alternative mediums such as telephonic calls, video chats, online meeting platforms, etc." "Old funnel got converted and many of these deals were from the NRIs who are contributing in bigger numbers than the domestic buyers. Many expats are trying to leverage dip in the value of rupee. The closure of the financial year has also helped in pushing ahead," Kansal said.
Earlier this month, property brokerage firm Square Yards, which is backed by Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group and Times Group, had said it sold over 400 housing units worth more than Rs 200 crore in the last 10 days of March despite the lockdown.
Anarock has recently said that India''s residential real estate has been severely hit by nationwide lockdown and sales could fall by up to 35 per cent across seven major cities during the 2020 calendar year following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.
