Tejaswi, a 30-year-old scientific analyst, who works for a biotech company in Bengaluru is all set to buy a 2-bedroom apartment inside a gated community in Kengeri for Rs 42 lakh. He is even obtaining a loan of Rs 10 lakh at an interest rate of 7.5%. “I have been looking to buy a house since the last one year and this is an opportunity as the prices have reduced and there are incentives to obtain loans at lesser rates of interest,” he said.

Before the lockdown, the developer had quoted a price of Rs 48 lakh for the same flat, he said, while adding that several apartments that he had viewed as options, are also offering various incentives. Due to the pandemic, property rates in Bengaluru have dipped, although real estate developers shy away from admitting the same.

Micheal, a 37-year-old entrepreneur in the city, bought a 2-bedroom house in Cox Town for Rs 1.2 crore. Micheal, who has also been considering various options, said that in February this year, the same house was priced at 1.9 crore.

Tejaswi, who had also viewed flats constructed by the same group corroborated said that the flats were being sold at Rs 52 lakh. 

Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants says that for housing, enquiries have reached over 60% of what developers saw before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Bengaluru leading in the number of people enquiring to buy a house.

“The city is doing remarkably well with enquiries reaching 85% of the peak pre-COVID-19 levels, Mumbai with 55-65% and Gurugram at nearly 65%. Homebuyers are gradually coming out and we hope the festive season will see significant increase in demand,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants.

Suresh Hari, Chairman of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India’s Bangalore chapter, said that many developers, who are currently in the process of constructing houses or apartments and were halfway through before the lockdown, are now altering their plans to accommodate the growing demand. In addition, he said that many developers are offering incentives like providing better quality fixtures and keeping the rate of the house the same as it was before the lockdown, removing floor charges for high rise apartments and even giving more room for buyers to negotiate. 

IT/BT crowd and entrepreneurs among those buying houses

Suresh said that although in April, May and June there was a dip in the rates at which properties were bought in Bengaluru, the demand is growing now. “Most people prefer to buy larger luxury houses. The IT and BT crowd are gravitating towards buying luxury apartments in the suburban areas,” Suresh said, while adding that the pandemic has also resulted in a new segment of buyers for utility housing. 

Anarock’s data suggests that there is a 30-40% increase in property seekers in the city scouting for 3BHK houses with an average size of 1800 sq ft. This is primarily due to the work from home concept, where couples with children are looking for individual spaces to work comfortably. 

Anuj Puri maintains that there is growing excitement among Bengalureans to buy empty plots of land, post the lockdown. He said that although the demand is more for fully constructed apartments in gated communities, the interest for purchasing land is also growing. 

“Although apartments are selling more, there is a growing interest by the IT professionals to buy plots on which they can later construct a villa/house. Moreover, with extended work from home option until the end of the year and possibly till next year, many professionals consider it a viable option to buy plots and construct their new abode and live in open spaces with ample flora and fauna around. Some of the prominent areas with increasing interest include Sarjapur Road, at Whitefield-Sarjapur Road that further extends up to Electronic City and Hosur Road,” Anuj Puri added.  

source : thenewsminute