Time ripe for NRI buyers to pick property in India

This season, many Indian developers are giving discounts on their new as well as their previous unsold inventory, along with lucrative offers. Though the main festive days are over, these offers will continue for some more time.

Some projects even have additional discounts for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), making it a profitable time for NRIs to buy Indian real estate. Additionally, there has been a slew of measures introduced by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and the central government, like reduction in lending rates, cut in corporate tax, and the creation of a 200 billion rupee corpus for last-mile funding of stalled/delayed units with the government contributing half this investment as capital support.

NRIs — a highly desirable clientele for Indian developers — can view this season with enthusiasm and make calculated purchase decisions. The market is currently highly favourable for them, though the resurgence in local demand may cause prices to rise again in the foreseeable future.

For NRI investors who have been sitting on the sidelines, this is definitely an opportune time — the deal is sweeter for NRIs as they enjoy additional benefits like discounts and a host of offers during this time, including brokerage discounts, cash discounts, benefits on registration and stamp duty payment, travel vouchers, free clubhouse membership, and home appliances.

Impressive launch pipeline

Developers time their new project launches for this time of the year as they know that buyers seek to align their purchases with auspicious periods as per the Hindu calendar. Moreover, many NRIs visit India in the festive quarter (October to December) and many finalise property investments before returning to their countries of work.

New housing project launches during the festive season are therefore usually higher than any other time of year. As per Anarock research, October alone saw new launches of nearly 12,400 new units across top seven cities.

Big developers like Oberoi Realty, Godrej Properties, Sobha, and DLF have premium housing offerings with attractive schemes for NRIs as well as local buyers.

Attractive home loan rates

Apart from offers on home prices, NRIs can also avail of attractive home loan offers during the festive season period. Lending rates are already low now, following the RBI’s monetary policy changes, and further reductions can make the deal that much more profitable.

The RBI cut repo rate by an additional 25 basis points in the first week of October, making it the fifth straight repo rate reduction by the monetary policy committee. Further rate cuts are expected in the next few months, and lending rates are now more closely linked to the repo rates. In previous years, banks were very slow in transmitting reduced repo rates to customers but are now under statutory pressure to comply.

Higher savings opportunity

Lower prices make it that much more attractive for NRI buyers to invest in Indian property. Prices are currently at their lowest “best” and any further reductions are linked solely to festive season promotions. In fact, home prices have already begun inching northward in some high-value markets.

As of now, the depreciation of the rupee against the UAE dirham further adds to the list of benefits for NRIs. The rupee has depreciated by over 3 per cent in the last three months, leading to increased savings for NRIs on property investments.

While the rupee has begun showing signs of hardening against the dollar and other exchange rates are bound to follow, the current time still offers very favourable exchange rates to NRIs.

Shajai Jacob is CEO — GCC, Anarock Property Consultants.