More than a home, NRIs look for realty investment in India

One of two non-resident Indians (NRI) in the UAE plan to buy property within the year, according to a new survey, with real estate investment options in their homeland gaining strong interest in light of a weakened Indian rupee. The top five locations for purchasing property, based on the survey by the Indian Property Show, are Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin and Pune. Other locations that emerged as favourites are Pune, Delhi, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad and Goa. The survey said that a little over 40 per cent of NRIs are looking to buy property as an investment, rising from around 35 per cent in the previous year. Kowshik Mukherjee, head of Indian Property Show and COO of Sumansa Exhibitions, credited the improving attitude towards Indian real estate to regulatory reforms, as well as the continued decline of the rupee. “Expat Indians are not only keen on purchasing a home in their homeland but have also shown an increased interest in purchasing purely for investment purposes,” said Mukherjee. The majority of the survey’s 15,000 respondents, around 65 per cent, are in the 30-50 age bracket. The survey also found that there are now fewer UAE NRIs relying on mortgage, with around 58 per cent not needing finance, compared with around 66 per cent last year. Properties priced between 2.5 million (Dh136,000) and 7.5 million Indian rupees are in the sweet spot with 46 per cent searching for options in that category. Around 28 per cent are looking for investment prospects in the 7.6 million-20 million rupee price bracket. Dozens of Indian developers are expected to attend the Indian Property Show on June 21-23 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.