Housing Market Rebound: Investors Return for Profit | FICCI-Anarock Survey

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Investors are returning to housing market, with 36 per cent of respondents looking to buy homes from an investment perspective, according to FICCI-Anarock survey released on Tuesday.

At a real estate event here, FICCI-Anarock Consumer Sentiment Survey (H2 2023) was released which suggested that prospective homebuyers are considering to buy bigger homes and also not averse to buying flats in newly launched projects.

"With the rise in disposable income, COVID-19 interlude, and work from home (WFH), homebuyers are looking for spacious homes. This has significantly increased demand for bigger and luxury homes across the country. Yet another perceptible shift in trends noticed is the shift from renting to homeownership," Raj Menda, Chairman of FICCI Real Estate Committee, said.

Menda, who is Chair of Supervisory board of Bengaluru-based realty firm RMZ Corporation, said the realisation of the importance of owning a home, coupled with the favourable buying environment will continue to drive a strong homebuying sentiment.

Highlighting the major findings of the survey, real estate consultant Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said the demand for bigger homes remains strong even now despite rising prices with nearly 50 per cent respondents preferring to buy a 3BHK home, followed by 38 per cent for 2BHK.

"Notably, some trend reversals are also seen to be happening. Investors are once again returning to the market. As seen, over 36 per cent respondents in H2 2023 are looking to buy property from an investment perspective as against 26 per cent respondents back in the COVID-19 period (H2 2020)," he added.

The report mentioned that this change underscores the growing trend of viewing real estate as a profitable investment avenue, attracting individuals seeking to leverage the potential returns offered by the property market.

Puri noted that the demand for ready properties has shrunk considerably and stands at the lowest end of the preference chart.

"As of H2 2023, the ratio of ready homes to new launches stands at 23:24. This indicates a complete trend reversal compared to H1 2020, when the ratio was 46:18," he added.

The report said that one primary reason behind this shift is the increased supply of new projects from large and listed developers.

"These established developers have garnered higher confidence among prospective homebuyers due to their reputation for timely project delivery. In the past, new launches were mostly dominated by smaller players, leading to numerous delays in project completion, which eroded buyer confidence. Consequently, buyers favoured ready homes," it added.

This survey conducted by Anarock saw nearly 5,510 participants responding to it via different digital sources, including email campaign, web link and messages.