Indians prefer buying 2-3 BHK houses; millennials contribute the largest chunk of homebuyers: Survey

                The real estate sector has seen a decent recovery in the last two months in terms of housing sales. The prominent markets such as Mumbai recorded a robust 67 per cent year-on-
year growth in home sales volume at 9,301 units in November 2020.

The growth was largely augmented by the festive period of Diwali, the stamp duty cut in many states and the reduction of home loan interest rate. Other measures by realty developers 
such as deferred payment plans, discounts and offers have also helped entice homebuyers.

These factors have inspired 82 percent of customers to buy property in 2021 as compared to 64 per cent in 2020, according to a survey by NoBroker.com.

“It has been historically observed that whenever the difference between home loan interest rates and rental yields are less than 4.5-5 per cent, there is a massive surge in housing 
sales and we can expect this to happen now,” said Saurabh Garg, co-founder and Chief Business Officer, NoBroker.com.

The millennials contribute the largest chunk of homebuyers. The 25-40 demographic constituted about 49 per cent of buyers until last year. This percentage has now rocketed to 63 
per cent.

"The year 2020 ha has re-emphasised the importance of owning a physical asset and changed the priorities for the millennials," Garg said adding that it shifted criteria from ‘closer to 
the workplace’ to ‘spacious house’ for working professionals as work from home kicked in.

The survey also finds that the homebuyers are preferring bigger two or three-bedroom homes to accommodate study and work from home lifestyle, steered by the COVID-19 
pandemic.

The percentage of people looking to buy a 3 BHK is 29 per cent, a rise from 7 per cent last year. Meanwhile, around 48 per cent of homebuyers this year are looking for 2 BHK, a 
growth of 10 per cent from last year.

The survey indicates a sizable increase in a number of people looking to buy property in Rs 80 lakh to 1 crore bracket.

There has also been a rise in online rent payments. The majority of this is led by the fact that post-pandemic people prefer contactless means of rent transfer.

Meanwhile, 57 per cent of buyers prefer ready to move in homes with Delhi –NCR and Chennai leading this trend.

Hyderabad leads the choice for independent houses where 46 per cent were looking for an independent house, whereas Delhi tops the chart when it comes to buying a plot with 15 
per cent.

Source:  CNBC TV 18