The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be an inflexion point for the Indian economy. Real estate types the backbone of the economy and is the second-biggest employer soon after agriculture. Home has come to be the central pivot of our lives, a location of belonging and a haven for our each day pursuit. Since antiquity, buying a dream home has been thought of a milestone in an individual’s life.
In the previous handful of decades, the typical age of a homebuyer has lowered to 30 years compared to 50 earlier. COVID-19 has additional elevated the significance of owning a home as an alternative of living in uncertainties in rented properties. An Anarock customer sentiment survey highlighted that at least 37 per cent of participants intending to invest in properties fall in the age bracket of 35-45 years. Another Anarock survey points out that 85% of purchasers in NCR bought their initial properties involving July 2020 and March 2021.
Real estate has also emerged as a steady asset class in the wake of diminishing lustre in option classes such as stocks, mutual funds, and so on. Looking homewards, NRIs are increasingly searching for investment in realty in India owing to robust financial fundamentals.
Amid work from home, men and women increasingly choose spacious properties with a distinct workspace. It has inevitably prompted the rethinking of the current ticket sizes and configurations to accommodate an added space as a study, storeroom or puja space. The 3-BHK and 2-BHK+study in dwellings are poised to stay sought-soon after assets as the hybrid model becomes a norm in the post-pandemic world.
Moreover, luxury housing catering to an affluent section of the society has remained resilient amid these unprecedented occasions. For a niche segment of society comprising corporate specialists, HNIs, UHNIs and NRIs, the benchmarks for sophistication stay unchanged in spite of financial volatility. This discerning segment of homebuyers seeks a luxurious life-style in meticulously crafted and aesthetically developed properties equipped with greatest-in-class amenities such as a fitness center, spa, clubhouse, tennis court, 24×7 safety and surveillance, and so on.
Self-sustained gated townships and condominiums are gaining traction amongst homebuyers amid travel restrictions and transmission issues of the illness. With well being and wellness taking centre stage, sustainability has located a new which means. Homes set amid verdant greenery exemplifying a provision of optimum sunlight and ventilation, eco-friendly amenities such as rainwater harvesting, use of solar power have emerged as sought-soon after assets. Location, aesthetics, good quality of building and developers’ credentials are amongst the essential aspects influencing homebuyers’ choices.
Amid the blurring of geographical barriers, spacious properties situated on the peripheries of cities, way from the hustle-bustle of the city, are gaining currency. Micro-markets such as New Gurgaon, and so on., have emerged as realty hotspots bolstered by outstanding connectivity and fast infrastructural developments. Digitisation, leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and so on., to maximise client encounter are also amongst the dominant trends.
Furthermore, a Square Yards report points out that Gurugram has emerged as the most sustainable city to live in amid the pandemic due to low population density, higher open region ratio, and larger quantity of healthcare institutions per unit region. The city is poised to dominate homebuyers’ preferences due to quite a few policy initiatives by the Haryana government and upcoming big-scale infrastructural projects.
The buoyant financial activity and financial stability prospects augur properly for the speedy rebound of actual estate by the last quarter of 2021. Nevertheless, regaining the faith of customers will be important to push sales to pre-COVID levels. Customer-centricity and personalised offerings are anticipated to come to be essential priorities for developers to preserve a competitive edge more than their peers. Organised players with sound credentials will be improved placed to navigate uncertainties due to their agile business enterprise models. The upcoming festive season has currently rekindled hopes of an upsurge in residential demand. Bolstered by the policy push and robust financial fundamentals, actual estate is poised towards a V-shaped recovery by Q4 2021.
(By Rahul Singla, Director, Mapsko Group)