Real estate, considered one of the most preferred assets for Non-Residential Indians, saw a 15% growth in NRI investments across the country last year, with developers crediting the upswing in investments to the implementation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, and Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the depreciating value of the rupee.
Speaking to The Hindu , Kishore Jain, president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) Bengaluru, said, “The year 2018 has been good for the real estate sector, with increased growth of 15% in terms of property inquiries and transactions by NRIs. Even though demonetisation and GST affected the sector initially, RERA helped in bringing back the customers’ trust.”
He said apart from the rupee devaluation, reforms such as the RERA and GST, which have “helped to bring in more accountability in the real estate sector”, gave confidence to NRIs to invest in properties, and added that more NRIs were looking at India to invest in the real estate growth story.
Among those who made investments in India were people who migrate to countries that do not offer citizenship easily, and want to secure their retirement life by investing in properties back home, he said.
Bengaluru, with its ‘IT capital’ tag, registered a good response to housing projects ranging from affordable to uber luxury, according to CREDAI. The real estate sector witnessed growth compared to the previous year.
“Bengaluru has become a startup hub and house of many e-comm unicorns. A lot of expats are settling down in Bengaluru owing to work commitments and hence the demand for residential properties is high. NRIs are receiving high returns when they rent out the property. Also, renting helps the property to be in good shape, which is why more and more NRIs are renting or leasing their properties,” said Mr. Jain. In addition, the presence of MNCs and Fortune 500 companies is making a difference in Bengaluru as most people who had shifted to the U.S. and Canada are considering to invest in the city as they prefer it for re-employment opportunities, he said.
Cities such as Mysuru, Mangaluru, Tumakuru, and Hubballi are also witnessing good demand for real estate projects as most of the IT companies and BPOs are shifting their offices to these cities. These tier-2, tier-3 cities, which once had only bungalows, today have luxury apartments, said Mr. Jain.
Location preferred over property
According to CREDAI, NRIs prefer choosing the best locations over the kind of properties. In Bengaluru, the preferred locations are Koramangala, Sarjapur Road, Indiranagar, Whitefield, and Mysuru Road, as well as areas close to Kempegowda International Airport.
