”The festive season from October to March is the best time to buy houses in the Indian market ; The festive period, even after Navaratra is past, will continue for another couple of months. Generally, property market gets a boost as realtors offer festive deals to cut inventory. This year, the festive season offers in real estate market have gone up as the sector is seeing high inventory levels with low sales bar throughout the country. Also, compared to the previous year, there have been fewer new projects launched. Real estate companies are rushing in with discounts and freebies ahead of Diwali, a time which registers high volume of home sales in the country. “Early birds who have already booked their dream apartments are receiving various benefits on stamp duty, registration fees, brokerage discounts or no brokerage. Also, gifts like gold coins and free cars are distributed by the developers to attract buyers in this dawdling market. Many developers are poised to launch new schemes for existing projects as well as innovative payment structures,” Devinder Gupta, MD of Century 21,says. “I feel that rather than waiting for a time when prices fall in realty market, one must search and book a flat according to one’s budget. After all, these endless waits could make things difficult in the future, as the cost of construction keeps rising and builders are unlikely to sell for less,” Ajay Agarwal, director of Avalon Group, says. Given the trend of rising property prices over the last few years, the price of the property you have shortlisted will most likely keep going up as you wait. There is no debate that the residential real estate is one asset class where prices have been steadily rising in most markets. While analysts have been saying the residential property markets in locations like Delhi NCR and Mumbai are ripe for a price correction, developers have been able to hold on to prices even as buyers wait for a fall. Given the demand-supply imbalance, the trend is likely to continue and your investment will, in all possibility, stand you in good stead even when other assets take a beating. Advitiya Sharma, a realty consultant, says: ”The festive season from October to March is the best time to buy houses in the Indian market, with the market slanted largely in favour of the buyer. Real estate companies try to offload their inventory during this time to avoid big permanent price cuts in the future-it’s the best time for offers and discounts. One-third of developers’ sales happen during this period and we will be watching sales this year to see how the market is changing.” Nikhil Jain, CEO of Ramprastha Developers, says: “If you are planning for your own house or a second property, you should not mind investing in the outskirts of your city. With the passage of time, the outskirts are gradually enveloped by the urban development of the main city.” Talking about Navaratra period and the realty market, experts say this is a time when even those who already posses properties book their flats. As jobs are hardly permanent in nature, people attempt to buy a second property before they reach the age of 50 years, as they rightly feel that their second home would give them rental income in case they face a job crisis. “If you look back at the scene of 15-20 years ago, you will see that earlier people were satisfied with one property. But, today, as the salaries of young professionals have gone up, there has been a paradigm shift in the attitude of people in terms of investing in realty. If people settled for one property earlier, today’s generation has been investing in multiple properties,”Nuzhar Alim, director of ILD Group, says. Now people are investing in realty with the clear-cut idea that their investment in property would be their source of income in their post-retirement life. With higher disposable incomes and more loan options, this trend is being followed by a larger number of families. Investment advisors also suggest that if it is possible, one should buy another house before retirement. Those who have no pensionable job must buy another property before retirement, as this would afford them social security at the later stages of their life. If you have more than one property, you can give the second house on rent and earn a good amount through rent. Source: Times Property, The Times of India, Delhi/NCR
Posted on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 10:04:18 +0000