NRIs FOCUS ON SOUTHERN REALTY FOR INVESTMENT

Mumbai, Feb. 16: Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are increasingly showing interest in the southern markets, especially Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, for real estate investments, with over 75 per cent of searches focusing on these markets during 2020, according to a report.

The maximum search or demand comes from NRIs living in the US, followed by the UAE and Britain, said the report by Commonfloor, a Quikr platform that offers home-seekers, sellers and realty professionals an online ecosystem.

The report said over 75 per cent of the NRI searches are directed towards the southern markets and Karnataka tops, with the most searches (31 per cent) for properties, followed by Tamil Nadu (20 per cent), Kerala (11 per cent) and Telangana (9 per cent).

On the property pricing trend, Bengaluru saw a dip in prices, especially at Whitefield, the Electronic City, Devanahalli and Sarjapur Road in 2020, while Kanakapura Road saw an increase, thanks to the metro.

Overall, properties across Hyderabad, Delhi and Chennai saw a dip in the pricing. Due to the sluggish nature of the economy, the stock of unsold inventory needed an extra push through discounts and offers which could explain this dip.

The searches were mostly for apartments for rent (39 per cent), followed by plot for sale, which got 17 per cent of the search volume. While 29 per cent of the NRI searches were about plots, about 45 per cent were looking for apartment/villa, of them 82 per cent were looking to invest in ready-to-move-in properties.