The real estate industry has been a key driver of the nation’s economic growth and plays a critical role in contributing to its GDP. Truly enough, before the pandemic first hit, the real estate industry maintained its momentum despite the ups and downs due to regulations and policy changes like RERA and the NBFC liquidity crisis. However, it came to a near-halt when the first lockdown was announced last year with a sudden dip in the interest to invest in real estate. Interestingly, the market has bounced back in the past couple of months, especially with revival measures like government initiatives to reduce housing loan interest and the developers providing attractive pricing schemes. There’s a surge in the interest to buy and rent properties with people looking to upgrade their lifestyle as they are spending more time at home now than before.

As we are beginning to see this recovery in the Indian real estate industry, the unfortunate timing of the second wave of Covid-19 may cause a temporary dip in the interest to buy and sell properties. However, the increased adoption of digital tools especially since last year could be the force that brings tremendous potential for the real-estate sector to handle this situation better. According to experts from Commonfloor, here are the top trends that will influence real estate in India:

Digital Adoption: The pandemic has surely made everything digital-first than ever before. The use of emerging technologies has made the online home buying experience better for consumers via home video reviews, virtual house tours, and digital real estate expos among others. In fact, for the first time, Sobha Developers partnered with Commonfloor for a video review of one of their properties, Sobha Windsor in Bangalore. Such video content helps build credibility with property seekers and gives them a sense of having visited the site from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, one of India’s largest real estate builders launched 3 of its projects completely online on Commonfloor by live-streaming the launch event across Quikr Real Estate platforms. This shows that builders are also adopting digital more aggressively.

Flexible Payment Options: Learning from the new environment and the rising inventory of ready to occupy properties, builders are attracting homebuyers with discounts and other attractive payment plans. This, along with government initiatives like lower home loan rates come together as an ideal package for potential homebuyers.

Home Buying for Own Occupancy: With people spending more time at home now, they are looking to upgrade their lifestyle and potential homebuyers are aspiring to own homes to suit individual/family interests. This is accelerated by work-from-home and study-from-home options along with the reduced pricing of residential properties.

Distance is Not a Factor: Due to the work-from-home phenomenon consumers are spending more time at home and this is one of the reasons why distance to and fro the workplace is not a concern. For instance, Quikr Real Estate saw an increased demand to buy villas across all metros except Kolkata in Q1 2021 as compared to the previous quarter. Usually, villas are situated in the outskirts of a city, away from noise and air pollution. It has its pros such as the luxury of space, privacy, and land ownership, thus making it ideal for large families.

Real Estate as an Investment: Real estate is considered a preferred lifetime investment as the risk factor is low compared to other investment options. Interestingly, with the current market delivering at lower prices and more builders moving to digital platforms, there has been an increase in demand within India and the NRI market.

The author is VP - Commonfloor, a Quikr company

DISCLAIMER: Views expressed are the author's own, and Outlook Money does not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.