More NRIs are keen to buy bigger homes in the country, says report

• Demand for bigger homes has seen a spurt in the post-Covid era.
  
• In fact, 77% of the NRIs are looking to buy bigger homes, while 23% want 4 BHK homes.
  
• Housing sector has seen a 15-20% increase in demand by NRI in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

Many non-resident Indians (NRIs) are looking to come back to their motherland keeping in mind the ongoing economic situation due to the Russia-Ukraine war and thus, are actively searching for housing properties in India.

"Despite the worst of Covid-19 now in the past, NRIs have clearly not forgotten the uncertainties associated with living in a foreign country during a major pandemic. Securing homes in India became, and remains, a priority for Indians everywhere,” said Prashant Thakur, Sr. Director & Head of Research, ANAROCK Group.

In fact, 77% of the NRIs are looking to buy bigger homes, while 23% want 4 BHK homes and 54% want to buy 3 BHK properties, according to CII-ANAROCK Consumer Sentiment Survey.

The survey got 55,000 responses from NRIs, out of which 7% were currently stationed in the US, Canada, Gulf, Europe, and various Asian countries.

Demand for bigger homes has seen a spurt in the post-Covid era. “While schools and offices have reopened, the desire for extra living space remains undiminished. Many of the large IT companies and IT-driven startups now operate on a hybrid work model,” says the report.

Notably, more NRIs prefer investing in Indian real estate over stocks, mutual funds, gold, and fixed deposits. Another reason why NRIs prefer bigger homes is the favourable exchange rate.

The percentage of NRIs looking for 2 BHK properties has declined from 40% in 2019 (pre-Covid) to 22% in 2022 (post-Covid).

"As per ANAROCK Research, the Jan-Sep period of 2022 saw approx. 2.73 lakh homes sold in the top 7 cities," said Thakur.

The real estate market has overall witnessed a gradual recovery after successive Covid-19 lockdowns. The demand further boosted during the festive season despite higher interest rates and biting inflation.

Bengaluru remains as one of the top choices

Bengaluru has been one of the top three choices among NRIs to invest in the housing sector before, during and after the Covid pandemic.

Other than Bengaluru, Hyderabad and NCR are the top choices for the NRIs this year. At least 60% of the respondents agreed to be looking for properties in Hyderabad, 20% were eyeing the NCR region and 18% were preferring Bengaluru.

Last year, Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai were the top picks for most NRIs.

While 63% of the respondents want premium properties priced between ₹90 lakhs to ₹1.5 crore, 59% NRIs preferred luxury properties priced between ₹1.5 - 2.5 crore.

Overall investment in the Indian housing by NRIs has ballooned from 55% in the pre-Covid year (2019) to 71% this year. "On an average, NRIs account for 10-15% of homes sold in any given quarter,” Thakur added.

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