An overwhelming majority of non-resident Indians (NRIs) – as high as 82 percent – now prefer to buy premium to luxury residential properties in their home country – a major change from the past, which is widely seen as a reflection of the increased belief that the trend of work from home is here to stay, the latest industry survey showed.
In another trend reversal post-pandemic, a much higher percentage of NRIs now want to purchase houses in India for self-use, as opposed to purchasing property as an investment, according to the latest CII-Anarock consumer sentiment survey.
“At least 53 percent of NRI respondents in the survey said they would buy properties in India in the coming months for end-use, while 47 percent said they would do so for investment,” a senior Anarock executive said.
“Also, 50 percent NRI respondents prefer luxury properties priced above $204,000 (Rs 15 million) and 32 percent favour premium properties priced between $122,000 and $204,000,” added the executive of Anarock, a property consulting firm with operations in India and GCC.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is a leading India industry body.
In the pre-Covid survey, 68 percent NRI respondents were buying for investment; that has dropped to 47 percent in the post-pandemic survey, which sector experts said could be due to the persisting concerns on the job front.
Gulf-based NRIs account for a large chunk of expat property purchasers in India due to issues related to long-term job prospects and residency visas in many Gulf countries, as against their compatriots in Western countries like the US, UK and Europe who generally settle with Green Cards or permanent residency permits.
The survey findings on NRI preferences, coming ahead of the commencement of the long festival season in India – October-December period is considered the peak season for property purchases – is expected to help developers to position their offering and plan their marketing campaigns aimed at the influential expat buyers.
“The fallout of Covid-19 on global economies and job prospects has once again rekindled housing demand from NRIs but with significant changes in their purchasing preferences,” Anuj Puri (pictured below), chairman, Anarock Group, said.
“In the recent years before Covid-19, many NRIs were in wait-and-watch mode amid the various structural reforms in the economy and the real estate industry. Also, prior to the pandemic, many NRIs who were keen on real estate preferred commercial properties – housing was low on their wish list,” added Puri.
The CII-Anarock survey also highlighted the demand for bigger homes by NRIs.
“At least 48 percent NRI respondents preferred larger homes of three-bed rooms, while 24 percent wanted 4-bedroom or higher configurations. Only 28 percent favoured two-bedroom apartments, which have covered areas below 1500 square feet,” the survey said.
The survey also revealed that while India’s IT capital Bengaluru remained at the top of the list, with 22 percent of NRI respondents preferring to buy residential properties in the city, another southern Indian city – Chennai – is seeing increasing interest by NRIs with 17 percent preferring it, as against 10 percent in the pre-Covid survey.
Pune and Mumbai are the other top choices for NRI investments for metro areas, while Chandigarh, Kochi, Surat, Ahmedabad and Lucknow were the favourite among tier two and three Indian cities.
According to the survey, developer credibility is the top priority for NRIs scouting for property in India, with pricing and reliable after-sales services the two other must-haves.
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