Real Estate Condition amidst the Covid Pandemic

There’s no denial to the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has posed a serious threat to our day-to-day lives as well as has played an initial role in slowing down the economy. It has brought forward a change that alters the way we live and has brought a noticeable change in one’s daily lifestyle.

This global pandemic has brought forward the importance of real estate, especially in the residential segment.

Amidst the breathtaking rise in the number of CoronaVirus cases in India, the demand for the best real estate properties in Kolkata might be thrown off-track. With a change in the demand for housing projects, there has also been a significant increase in the spending habits of individuals. According to a recent report by QuantEco Research, this second wave has initiated individuals to save, rather than spend. This would indeed impact the home purchases in the country, making people spend a lot less on things that are of less importance. 

However, with these prominent changes in the real estate sector, there are also certain benefits that might alter the curve a bit, which with time, would drive a shift in the buying trends of flats in Kolkata. 

Listed below are a few key trends that have been implemented with the coming on this pandemic:

Safety is all that matters

An obvious, yet noticeable change brought into the limelight with this pandemic is the need for a safe and secure home amidst a gated community. This pandemic has made people understand the importance of having a safe and secure home for your loved ones in order to be away from this pandemic. 

As a matter of fact, 84% respondents ( from a survey conducted by an online real estate platform, NoBroker), stated that they would still look forward to purchasing a property, compared to last year's 64%.
It is believed that with greater savings due to lower spendings during the lockdown, buyers with higher amounts of reserves go ahead with putting down-payments as well as purchasing these properties at substantially lower rates. Hence, there was a noticeable shift with the coming of this deadly pandemic. 

Need for more space

The pandemic has brought in a change in the mindsets of homebuyers as many are now working from home and expecting bigger homes with an extra room. With a rise in demand for more living space, over 70% of online searches on Square Yards were inclined towards purchasing larger residential spaces in Kolkata. 

This prominent trend has caused customers to look for homes which have an extra room for study or as a workplace.Since having a larger space has been an issue for many, people have started shifting to the suburbs. Unlike pre-Covid times where people loved to stay in the heart of the city, the work-from-home concept has pushed the housing demand towards the fringes of the city. 

The need for these multifunctional spaces has become a recent demand with respect to this ongoing pandemic. 

Introduction of Virtual Site Visits 

Compared to the old traditional way of purchasing a home, where a stack of paperwork needed to be filled up, with tech advancements in real estate, they have been put more into use since the pandemic hit in March 2020. 

With the introduction of these proptech solutions, we see no need for a broker with respect to purchasing a property. With the help of AR and VR visits during this pandemic, one can get a digital tour of the property from the comfort of his home. These digitally advanced tools help one look at wall colors, decors, amenities etc. According to Mr.Pankaj Singh, the CEO of Multiliving Technologies, their focus is to eliminate the everyday hassles through home management solutions via their application.  

This benefits the customers and allows them with a clear visual understanding of the property before purchasing it. 

Rise in demand for affordable homes 

Having a dream home in the traditional-rich side of the City of Joy is a dream come true for many. However, with the coming of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the demand of purchasing real estate during April-June last year have improved with an economic recovery reflected in the real estate sector since July onwards. This has only been possible with the introduction of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), which works towards providing housing for the rural & urban sector by 2022. With a recent survey conducted, it was brought into notice that by 18th January 2021, 109.2 lakh houses had been sanctioned. 

Out of these 70.4 lakh had been grounded for construction & 41.3 houses have been built, sheltering numerous urban households. With complementary lower GST rates, reduction in interest rates as well as subsidies offered by the RBI, several households have been benefited with affordable households. 

This has indeed given rise to several luxury projects in other cities,  especially in North Kolkata, where homebuyers are blessed with the opportunity of buying luxurious 2/3/4 bhk apartments at an affordable price. As a result, there has been a substantial shift in demand for real estate projects in North Kolkata. 

Even though this deadly pandemic has severely impacted the real estate sector in many ways, better days are still yet to come in the near future. Amid the growing importance of owning a home, there has been a noticeable rise in demand for residential properties in Kolkata. With the new work-from-home trend common with the working class, homes being the only playground for children and the need for safer homes calls for a better lifestyle in a beautifully gated community where your near and dear ones are assured 100% safety. 

Purchasing a home revolutionalizes one’s way of living and upgrading it to the best of its abilities. So going ahead with purchasing a home even during the pandemic has,is and will never be a bad option.