Like pretty much every other sector, real estate too, is undergoing several changes in the wake of the pandemic. These involve the emergence of many trends in the industry.
However, the demand for homes hasn’t fallen much. Rather, it is expected to rise more. Especially now that RBI has slashed repo rates by 0.75%, home loan interests have fallen considerably. This, along with many other factors is expected to spur the demand for housing.
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Buyers’ market: The pandemic has evidently put developers in a tough spot, turning the real estate market into a buyers’ market. The trend in demand is changing and most developers are starting to adapt accordingly to survive and cater to the needs of the homebuyers.
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Rise in demand for affordable homes: The demand for affordable homes has risen considerably. It had already been on the rise before the pandemic. However, now this trend is further growing and more and more developers are coming up with such homes to meet this rising demand. One of the reasons behind this is the financial distress caused to the homebuyers by the lockdown, limiting their budget.
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New real estate among millennials: However, despite the financial distresses, the demand for homes is rising as the pandemic has shown people the need for one’s own home. A large section of the homebuyers planning to purchase a home soon comprises of the millennials who used to live in rental accommodation previously. During the pandemic they started to face many uncertainties and difficulties, making them start looking for homes to buy.
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Preference towards ready to occupy homes:Another prominent trend in the real estate market is the rise in the demand for ready to occupy homes. Such homes were always preferred by many due to trust issues. Now during the pandemic, those facing issues residing in rental accommodation are in a rush to get possession of their new home. While more than 34% of the homebuyers want ready to move homes, another section is willing to wait up to 6 months to get possession.
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Growth of real estate construction in small towns: A large section of the people working in metro cities are migrants to small towns. On once side working professionals are facing issues like job loss and other financial constraints. The severity of COVID-19 was more in big cities, professionals have moved to their home towns for protection and for security of family during medical emergencies. The moving back to their hometowns has afforded a more affordable lifestyle – even for young professionals as they were able to save hostel fees. This has led to a rapid rise in home construction or extensions in small towns. Many are reverse migrating because now with the Work From Home trend prevailing, they can work even from their hometown. This trend is expected to stay and along with it, real estate in the smaller towns would grow.
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Consolidation of transaction space: Though the real estate market in India is highly disorganized, it is expected to consolidate in the post-COVID world. The next couple of years would witness the organized real estate players capturing 20% to 30% of the market. A prime reason behind this is the trial that the developers are currently going through. Only those of them who can adapt to the new normal by going digital and integrating new technologies can thrive well in the market.
It is expected that the current situation would bring about a lot more organization and modernization in the Indian real estate sector. Some of the trends that emerged during the pandemic are expected to stay in the long run.