51% of urban Indians say festival season is a good time to invest in property

                Around 51 percent of urban Indians think that the festival season, which typically runs from October to November, is a good time to invest in real estate, a survey has 
found, as developers ready offers to lure consumers.

About 35 percent of urban Indians aged between 25 and 44 plan to invest in real estate over the next six months. YouGov’s Diwali Spending Index, an indicator of 
spending propensity, also reveals a recovering appetite to spend during the festival season marked by Diwali.

These findings should offer some comfort, as Indians, hit hard by coronavirus and job losses as well as salary cuts that followed, have been watchful. As the virus fears 
ebb, vaccination picks up and the economy opens, businesses are hoping that the festival season will boost demand. For many, Diwali is a time for big-ticket purchases 
like homes, vehicles and jewellery.

Data shows that almost 51 percent of urban Indians agree that this is a good time to invest in real estate. Only 12 percent disagree, while 27 percent are undecided.

Men are most likely than women to say they will invest in property, the survey found. Residents of Tier I (39 percent) and II (38 percent) are more enthusiastic about buying 
property than those in Tier-3 cities (30 percent).

The online survey, which had 2005 respondents from across the country, was conducted between August 3 and 6 by YouGov, a global market research company that 
began operations in 2017.

While most people—72 percent—looking to invest in real estate are planning to buy a residential property, 25 percent prefer commercial properties.

As many as 38 percent of Indians will finance property through home loans. Using savings is the next best option at 30 percent, while 21 percent will finance their dream by 
selling another property.

Availability of loans at a record low-interest rate is encouraging people to explore real estate this season. As many as 16 percent of the respondents said they would avail a 
home loan this season as rates are low.

Nearly 19 percent wish to buy a property this year as they could not do so earlier due to the pandemic. Other reasons include better prices (17 percent), intention to save 
and buy a property in 2021 (17 percent) and availability of funds due to recent financial gains (15 percent).

Affordable properties under ₹50 lakh are the most preferred, with 44 percent of people eyeing this segment.

As many as 41 percent respondents were willing to go higher to Rs 50 lakh-Rs 1 crore segment. People living in North India (44 percent) and Tier-I cities (48 percent) are 
most likely to invest within this range. Only 9 percent of property-seekers are willing to go above ₹ 1 crore.

Family and friends continue to play a big role, as 48 percent of people relied on information provided by them to buy a property but technology is catching up as well. While 
45 percent of the respondents got their information from the websites of real estate companies, 42 percent talked to local brokers or property agents.

Source: Money Control