UAE: Demand for second homes growing in India after Covid-19, say experts

Demand for second homes has been growing exponentially in India after the Covid-19 as people are looking for bigger spaces, hence, preferring to buy villas, townhouses and plots to build their own houses away from the major crowded cities.

According to real estate agents and developers taking part in the India Real Estate Show 2022, young professionals working in the IT and fintech sectors in major cities now prefer to buy their own homes because work-from-home has become a norm for people.

“A lot of people are looking for second houses – mainly townhouses, villas and plots to construct their own home. Right now people demand plotting developments so that they can have their own roof and land. This trend started after the Covid-19 and has had a big impact on high-rise buildings. Therefore, now builders are also coming up with the plotting development, with demand increasing day-by-day,” said Tanzeeb Sheikh, assistant vice-president of Investors Clinic.

“People are even willing to go 100km away from the main cities,” Sheikh told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the India Real Estate Show 2022, which is taking place at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Dubai.

Indian developers are showcasing over a hundred projects across major Indian cities at the two-day exhibition, which began on Saturday, May 21.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Sheikh said people prefer to buy properties closer to nature such as hill stations like Shimla and forest areas.

“We are expanding in small cities like Jaipur, Patiala and Ludhiana and Meerut because people are now moving out of crowded cities and they want to have a second house for their weekend staycations,” added Sheikh.

Hridesh Varma, assistant general manager for international sales at Birla Estate, said a lot of nuclear families are coming out and buying houses, especially after Covid-19. “People want to own their own space as IT and fintech professionals look out for their own space because work-from-home has become a norm now. They are looking for a house with proper facilities with good connectivity and infrastructure.”

Be it an NRI or an Indian resident, Varma said people want to invest in branded developments so that they could get quality products and timely delivery.

Hence, he believes that going forward, only category A and A+ developers will survive because of financial capability and the quality landbank they own.

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Tanzeeb Sheikh said the Indian government is also helping the real estate sector by keeping the mortgage rate at a very competitive price.

“Earlier, mortgage rates were around 8 per cent and now it’s 6.5 to 7 per cent and 80 per cent of loans are available to property buyers as per customers’ eligibility,” he added.

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