Property still rules the roost as a popular investment option in COVID times: Survey

The No Broker survey suggested that property is the most popular option for 76% of people. SIP/stocks and gold were distant second and third. It says a lot about the sentiment and the security that owning a physical object such as a house gives you.

New Delhi: As the world is still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, there seems to be no dearth of investors in the real estate market, a study by No Broker –a real estate and rental property platform –has found.

“The real estate industry has gone through a rollercoaster ride of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year, and has also come out swinging. This is demonstrated by how, now, more than ever, the budget for buying homes has seen further spike and property still rules the roost as a popular investment option – leaving SIP/stocks and gold in a distant second and third. We can only assume that the future of the Indian real estate industry is not only secure but also full of bright and innovative possibilities,” said the study.

The survey suggested that property is the most popular option for 76% of people. SIP/stocks and gold were distant second and third. It says a lot about the sentiment and the security that owning a physical object such as a house gives you.

The survey was conducted across Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The survey further found that, 84% of respondents have said it’s a good time to buy a property. 76% of respondents have stated that they are looking to buy a property in 2022.

“It indicates that the market is still very buoyant. A lot of professionals are still either working from home or working in a hybrid set up, and therefore, crave for a good working environment at home as well. This coupled with the fact that prices are currently stable, builders are offering good discount and home loan interest rates are at a historic low right now makes it a very opportune time to buy,” said No Broker.

A lot of people are already habituated to working from home but surprisingly somehow, the survey saw a huge percentage (80%) of tenants still preferring to stay close to workplace. 78% of buyers are looking to buy a house within the city. It could probably be due to the fact that a lot of professionals see their companies not adapting to the permanent work-from-home or hybrid set up and eventually offices will reopen.

No Broker added that People’s budget for buying has also increased.

“Last year, the survey suggested that 11% people were looking to buy a house over INR 1 crore. This year observed a further spike of 4% taking it to 15%. With a lot of expense that is usually kept aside for vacations and lifestyle being saved due to the pandemic and lower EMI due to low interest rate, it makes a lot of sense,” it said.

In its outlook for the year 2022, No Broker said that homeownership will continue to be a valued asset owing to historically low-interest rates. It said, “43% of respondents, the security of owning a physical asset cited by 38% of respondents, attractive discounts and government push. Interestingly, the budget for buyers purchasing a property has also expanded this year, with more buyers looking to get houses over INR 1 crore (15%) and more demand for 3BHK property units (33% in 2021 versus 29% in 2020). Higher disposable income and savings of the Indian urban population due to work-from-home formats hint that the budgets for homeownership will continue to expand in 2022 as well.”

NoBroker’s 2020 survey indicated preference for renting a house in the suburbs as most professionals were working from home. We saw “distance from workplace” slide down in the list of key considerations to rent. This year, 80% of people mentioned that distance from workplace still matters and a good majority have indicated that they prefer taking a house in the city. It explains the rent inflation that all cities have experienced.

Broker services will continue to see a consistent decline as real estate websites keep gaining a high footing, as most buyers no longer see the value in broker services and do not feel that the amount charged to them is justified, it added.