Driven by stable prices, depreciating rupee and good deals offered by developers, residential properties – particularly luxury homes – are showing good traction from NRIs, even during the times of pandemic. According to a recent consumer survey by ANAROCK, Bengaluru has emerged as the most favourite investment destination for 24% of NRIs, followed by Pune with a 19% share, and NCR with a 16% share.
A report by ANAROCK, titled ‘Real Estate Purchase Perspectives: From the Lens of the Consumers,’ has revealed that the most preferred budget range for NRIs is Rs 90 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore with a preference for 3 BHK & 4 BHK. “The luxury properties being developed in Noida fit perfectly for the NRI lifestyle. After the pandemic, the NRIs are concerned about the health and projects addressing this issue will gain the most. We have projects such as Cleo County in Sector 121, Noida, that have all the luxurious amenities that NRIs look for,” says Amit Modi, Director, ABA Corp & President (Elect), CREDAI, Western UP.
“NRIs are going in for larger, luxury homes, like 3BHK and 4BHK homes; the choice is mainly because of the lifestyle that they enjoy in the country they are staying in. Developer offers plus the extension of the RERA deadline as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package have helped NRIs decide to buy property in India. Realty players have also upped the game by showing off their properties virtually that has made it easier for NRIs to make purchase decisions,” says Ashok Gupta, MD, Ajnara India.
Feeling more bullish about the luxury market and talking of larger spaces, Dhiraj Jain, Director, Mahagun Group, says, “There is an emergence of shifting to large spaces as nothing is more important than the well-being, and people have now realized it more than ever. That emergence is happening, and we can see that in numbers. We are getting general inquiries from NRIs who want to understand what additional features we are going to add to the property.”
The average ticket size of NRI investment in 2016 was around Rs 70 lakh; in 2018, it was around Rs 51 lakh, and now it is around Rs 80 lakh. “The size of NRI investor is huge as there are more than 32 million NRIs, but most real estate investment is done by NRIs from the USA, Saudia Arabia and UAE. After the falling rupee, NRIs’ interest got revamped, and they are now interested in buying a property here because of their emotional connection. Investment-wise, NRIs are more inclined towards commercial real estate, and it got a boost with the coming up of REITs; they are buying residential properties as a backup plan that can help them get some return through rentals apart from assuring good capital appreciation,” says Yash Miglani, MD, Migsun Group.
NRIs always find Indian real estate attractive as there are many projects that are directed at them. NRIs are seen by the real estate sector, especially those living in the Gulf and the US, as high potential clients. Earlier, NRIs were investing heavily in the residential segment as it gave them good returns, but for the last couple of years, the trend has included the commercial segment too. “The reason being good capital appreciation and the rental yield on commercial assets owing to the increasing demand of Grade A offices, IT parks, logistics centres and now the formation of REIT has also pushed the case of commercial assets. NCR is among the top destinations for NRIs, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune. In residential, sales have dropped as was the case overall, but they hav now picked up pace after a slew of buyer-friendly measures,” says Ashish Bhutani, MD, Bhutani Infra.
Various surveys and reports have also pointed towards the preference of NRIs for the ready-to-move-in properties. “Most of the NRIs – around 90 per cent – prefer properties by branded developers; this is the reason that Noida, with the presence of major realty players, has been faring well. One of the biggest draw for the NRIs to this city is the planned development where even the roads get ready before the commencement of a project. The clean, green and healthy lifestyle that Noida can offer is unmatchable,” says Vijay Verma, CEO, Sun World Group.
(Source: Financial Express)
