Festive Season Will Bring Smile Back On Real Estate

It would not be wrong to say that the unprecedented crisis has really made the real estate industry more innovative and tech-focused. There has been a wonderful role reversal. Earlier, homebuyers used to go house-hopping (if we could call it that) to shortlist houses that they might be interested in. Now, the real estate players are bringing the houses to the buyer, on their phone screen, through video walkthroughs. The ‘new age customer’ of the ‘new normal’ times is quite appreciative of the solution.

The crisis has by and large disturbed the order of things for the real estate industry as well as for the customers. Technology has enabled a lot of solutions that have helped the players stay relevant. But one thing has emerged clearer than ever. The importance of owning a home has gone up many notches in the consumer consideration. The growing uncertainty of the current times has also given rise to a new segment of home buyers- young millennials who for a long time opted to stay on rent as they enjoyed the flexibility of shifting jobs and cities. The pandemic has given them a reason to own a house now and be prepared for work-from-home and spending almost all the time at home.

There is abundant unsold inventory in the market and construction activity has slowly started resuming. Therefore, developers are keen to sell the existing inventory. They are offering attractive discount to buyers. The whole situation is very much in favour of the buyers. With reduced repo rate, reduced stamp duty in Maharashtra, online-offline consolidation, huge available inventory, and attractive deals, it is a buyers’ market and buyers are aware of that. All of that coupled with the growing determination of buyers, even under 30 buyers, to own a house, online platforms like NoBroker are seeing a surge of buyer searches and enquiries.

Online players as well as builder fraternity are looking forward to the festive season as buying activity is usually on the rise. Many platforms and builders have already rolled out festive offers for quicker closures. The ambiguity ensuing from Covid-19 has also somewhat settled and people have accepted the new normal. In fact, NoBroker has observed a sudden uptick in developer listings on the platform as the times do not permit them to continue with the traditional method of having brokers to lure buyers. Many builders have joined forces with online real estate players and are leveraging their technological capabilities to make the transaction process smoother and more efficient.

Also, there has been a considerable shift in the buyers’ criteria. Buying a home close to workplace is not the topmost priority anymore. With work from home, it has all taken a backseat. Many companies will allow employees to continue to work from home as the current time has proved that it is a viable option. Now, they are happily looking forward to owning a home in any locality they prefer. It has also led to price correction across localities. New localities have entered their consideration set.

Even builders and developers had never been so pressed to disburse the inventory. Liquidity crunch at their end facilitated the kind of discounts they are offering now. There has been a never seen before improvisation at the industry’s end.

This festive season is slated to relieve the sector of some inertia that it has been battling for a while now. Buyers had never felt such a pressing need to own a house. The pandemic stirred that need. And many buyers who have been in the purchase cycle and evaluating properties for a few months now would take advantage of the offers and low interest rates to close the deal now. All in all, the whole industry might come out stronger from the blow.

(Source: Financial Express)