To own or to rent has always been a question that has puzzled many a potential homebuyer. The lockdown and consequently the work from home, WFH, as a result of the COVID -19 pandemic seem to have brought in some good news for the residential realty segment, which was otherwise facing a total washout of the first quarter. If organised realtors are to be believed, they have noticed rising interest from buyers and many of them are looking for larger apartments. The NRIs who have come back too want to invest and are seeking digital presentation from developers across metro cities. Lower interest rates and a weaker rupee are certainly aiding quicker decision making.
All these have boosted the confidence of realtors. However, it is only upon the revival of the economy and the job market that the suppressed demand will translate into actual sales. Realtors feel that while actual purchasing may take 6-12 months as real estate is a highly involved category, but first home and mid segment buyers will be prompted to buy as they do not want to live with compromises. Established realtors are pointing towards the response garnered from their digital advertisements; this they say shows the willingness of the people to transact. Going forward developers will continue to focus on digital sales, drone shoots and virtual tours.
While realtors are not putting up any numbers, they say they are prepared for the short-term demand-supply disruption once the lockdown is completely lifted. If people continue to have job-certainty in the post COVID-19 era, there is bound to be a strong demand revival in the residential realty sector.
However, a full-blown revival will take at least two years or so. According to Anarock Research, Covid-19 will adversely impact new launches and absorption in the affordable housing segment, which accounted for 40% of the new launches over the last few years. It further stated that many people would reconsider purchase decisions in light of wage cuts and job losses and this could worsen the case for the affordable housing segment.