This Festive Season Might Light Up Real Estate: Survey

The festive season is all set to bring good news for the real estate sector. Amid the auspicious ambiance people are showing their intent to buy properties this season. According to a Festive Realty-2015 Survey by online real estate advisors PropTiger.com and Maakan.com, 57 per cent of the respondents surveyed are planning to invest in real estate market this year.

Residential property sales in the top nine cities had declined 18 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year, compared to the year-ago period, according to PropTiger.com's report for the first quarter of 2016.

Of the respondents planning to invest in real estate, 59 per cent plan to invest in ready-made properties such as flats and apartments, while 25 per cent will invest in builder-floor or independent-floor properties. The affordable-housing segment (priced up to Rs 40 lakh) remained the preferred investment option, with 56 per cent willing buyers wanting to invest in it. While 28 per cent say they are interested for the mid-segment (Rs 40-75 lakh), 10 per cent of the respondents showed their interest in the high-end segment.

A growing tendency to go for festive offers is evident, with the survey showing a whopping 71 per cent respondents expected a festive season discount. On the quantum of discount that will motivate them to buy a property, about 70 per cent said that anything more than a five per cent discount would be a deal maker.
Cash discount continues to be the preferred choice for buyers, with 64 per cent of them vouching for it. Twenty seven per cent said that they would rather go for financial flexibility such as differed payment plan as their discount option.

Of the major metros and Tier-II cities in India, the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Bengaluru occupied top slots in the list of preferred destination among property buyers, the survey showed. With many information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services firms shifting their offices here, Thane has also witnessed growth in number of new project launches.