Dubai: Non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the UAE are cashing in on the rupee fall and making a beeline to buy properties back home, industry players said.
Realtors told XPRESS ahead of the three-day Indian Property Show beginning in Dubai this Thursday that pre-launch bookings by NRIs have risen by 80 per cent in recent months.
Manav Ahuja, Head, Sales and Marketing of property brokerage Auric Acres, said a client who was planning to buy a villa in Bangalore by the year end, took the plunge last month, making a straight saving of Rs3.7 million (Dh0.24 million).
The depreciating rupee has meant a property worth Rs6 million (Dh0.39 million) in India now costs Dh370,000, as against Dh440,000 just a month back.
Emerging trend
Ahuja said: “We are seeing NRIs buying more of residential properties. In fact, 70 per cent of the queries are for residential properties in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai. A majority of the NRI buyers are end-users. There are others looking for a second home for use by family members or to earn periodical returns on investment or even to retain as a buffer to meet contingencies.”
Kapil Goyal of Nirmal Lifestyle said apartments are more popular with NRIs. “This is because there is better maintenance by builders. Pricing of apartments is good and more affordable compared to villas. Major buyers are in mid-income level segment and for them apartments work better. Thirdly, in major metros you will see villas on the outskirts, whereas apartments are in the heart of the city, so convenience is also a factor.”
He said rental returns on residential properties range between three to four per cent while those for ready commercial properties vary between five to eight per cent.
He said till last month, 90 per cent of UAE’s NRI investors were picking up properties in India, with only 10 per cent of them investing in the UAE. “But now, UAE real estate is also picking up due to the unrest in Arab countries like Yemen, Egypt, etc ... NRIs have started investing again in the UAE of late.”
Raj Singh, a Dubai resident who picked up a four-bedroom apartment in Dwarka of Delhi, said he is looking for another investment in the range of Dh2 million in India as he wants to leverage on the high exchange rate.
“It makes sense to buy property in India now because of the high exchange rate. And rather than taking a home loan back home where the interest rates are high, I would much rather take a personal loan here and leverage on the lower interest rate here,” he said.
Another investor Rakesh from Abu Dhabi said he had booked an apartment with Godrej in Gurgaon at the pre-launch stage because he wanted to make a two-way profit — one by entering at a low price and two, saving on the conversion rate.
Ahuja said: “Most of our buyers look for finance options and finance in India is available from banks at reasonable rates.”
Best exchange rate
As the rupee continued its free fall on Wednesday, some exchanges in the UAE offered better rates than others.
Enquiries made by XPRESS at major excange houses at around 12.30pm revealed that the Al Ansari Exchange was offering the best rate at Rs15.18 per dirham. This was followed by the Al Rostamani Exchange at Rs15.09.
Other exchanges like Lulu Exchange, Al Ghurair Exchange and Al Rostamani Exchange were offering Rs15.07 per dirham.
