Housing demand to pick up in 2021 as home ownership gains top priority

The current year 2020 has been very challenging for real estate because of the worldwide impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown. However, with homebuyers and investors returning to the market in recent months and some new trends emerging, 2021 certainly looks promising for the sector.

According to industry experts, the main theme of 2020 has been about being accommodative, collaborative and understanding, not just in real estate but across sectors and industries. Despite the unusual pressures on the housing market, residential real estate is on a high this festive season.

As anticipated, the ongoing festive quarter (October-December period) is seeing robust housing sales across the top cities. This is largely due to multiple offers and discounts being doled out by developers all across and limited-period stamp duty cuts in states such as Maharashtra. These discounts and offers collectively give buyers overall financial benefit between 5% and 15% of the property cost, depending on project, amenities, etc. Additionally, lower home loan interest rates are also attracting buyers,” says Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants.

Latest data trends also signal positive trends. ANAROCK Property Consultants, for instance, sold 1,805 homes across top 9 Indian cities (NCR, MMR, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Lucknow) and Dubai in the months of September and October this year. Last year, the firm sold 1,016 units in the corresponding period.

“This pent-up demand to own homes has been further accelerated by pandemic-like exigencies coupled with the ongoing favourable period amidst these schemes and offers. What we are seeing right now is organic demand driven by the desire to own homes. If and when the various discounts and offers are rolled back, demand remains even though sales velocity may decrease. If there was no demand, these deal sweeteners wouldn’t have been effective,” informs Puri.

Also, developers will obviously continue to fuel demand with offers and schemes even beyond the festive season in 2021. Likewise, home loan interest rates will not harden anytime soon as it is quite clear that increasing interest rates would impact overall demand at a time when the government is keen to boost consumption. Therefore, ANAROCK expects housing demand to continue going forward as home ownership has gained top priority for even the new-age millennials who previously shied away from it.

https://www.financialexpress.com/money/housing-demand-to-pick-up-in-2021-as-home-ownership-gains-top-priority/2154369/